£11,000 Awarded to Scholarship Winners at SWC Get Engineering Careers Event

Eight engineering students from South West College (SWC) have been awarded a combined total of £11,000 in scholarships from BlueMAC, Powerscreen and Strickland, in recognition of their academic achievement and commitment to the engineering sector.

The awards were presented at SWC’s Annual Get Engineering Careers Fair, which welcomed more than 30 employers from the mechanical, manufacturing and electrical engineering sectors. The event attracted hundreds of students and job seekers, providing opportunities to explore apprenticeships, Higher Level Apprenticeships (HLAs), degree pathways and careers in engineering.

The scholarship presentations took place at the SWC STEM Centre, where BlueMAC and Powerscreen jointly awarded £6,000 to six students studying on the GOLD Engineering Apprenticeship and the Ulster University Foundation Degree in Engineering with Specialisms Higher Level Apprenticeship, while the Strickland Scholarship, worth £2,500 per student, was awarded to two students undertaking the BEng (Hons) Engineering (Top Up) (Validated by The Open University) Higher Level Apprenticeship.

Sean McBride, Sales Manager at BlueMAC, presented £1,000 scholarships to three SWC Engineering students from Dungannon. The recipients were Rebecca Santos (Year 2) and Tiernan Kelly (Year 3), both studying the Ulster University Foundation Degree in Engineering with Specialism in Manufacturing through the HLA pathway, as well as Louise Martin, Year 3 GOLD Engineering Apprenticeship student.

Representing Powerscreen, Carla Rafferty, of Terex awarded three £1,000 scholarships to engineering students from Dungannon. The recipients were Jordao Felipe (Year 2), studying the Ulster University Foundation Degree in Engineering with Specialism in Manufacturing through the HLA pathway, alongside GOLD Engineering Apprenticeship students Yazmin Hughes (Year 3) and Caiden McCuskey (Year 2).

Eoin McGeary, on behalf of Strickland, presented the scholarship award. The two £2,500 scholarships were awarded to Áine Heagney from Dungannon and Aaron Johnston from Omagh, both first-year students on the BEng (Hons) Engineering (Top-Up) programme, validated by The Open University and delivered through the HLA pathway.

John Dolan, Deputy Head of Department for Engineering at SWC, said:

“With over one hundred apprenticeship places available this year, Get Engineering continues to expand annually. Engineering remains a vital sector in the South West region, driving local economic growth.

“These scholarships celebrate exceptional students who have demonstrated excellence in both their college studies and workplace training. Thanks to the generous support of Powerscreen, BlueMAC, and Strickland, eight SWC students will receive financial assistance to ease the costs of their education. This support empowers them to develop their skills and knowledge, benefiting both themselves and the wider industry. We are sincerely grateful to these companies for their continued investment in our students’ futures.”