National Grid: Empowering diverse talent through tech

National Grid wanted to encourage innovation in engineering, and give back to the areas in South London affected by their tunnelling works. They wanted to attract diverse talent from those areas, and encourage young people into STEM subjects.

In the candidate market, the fight for brilliant, diverse talent is stronger than ever. Particularly within the STEM industry, there remains significant underrepresentation of diverse groups – yet the employers prioritising a diverse workforce are 36% more likely to see above-industry-average profits. To engage a wider audience and build a future talent pipeline that delivers success, businesses need to revolutionise their employer brand and transform their attraction strategy. Employers who meaningfully turn their D&I strategy into reality will stand out above the rest. National Grid is doing just this.

Connectr and National Grid collaborated to design an ambitious five-year programme that will reach over 100,000 underrepresented young people across South London.

Combining both face-to-face and digital engagement, the blended campaign delivered:

• STEM workshops for Year 10 students
• Recruitment webinars for Year 12 & 13 students
• Virtual Q&A sessions
• ‘Form time’ takeovers
• Digital mentoring and digital learning resources
• Video library
• Resource pack for students
• Virtual work experience programme
• Site tours

Connectr and National Grid saw impressive impact by the end of Year 1:

• 18,992 young people impacted
• 16,040 young people received learning resource packs
• 191 young people received virtual work experience
• 1,781 young people took part in virtual workshops
• 24 schools engaged across South London
• 161 hours delivered by National Grid volunteers