Taking the first STEP: Building a future talent pipeline for the Semiconductor sector

Through its partnership with the UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF), the school is proud to announce 5 awardees of the Semiconductor Talent Award who joined us in September as new students; Mariella Gallard-Oakley, Arthur Setterfield-Milln, Seth Parry, Joseph Shaw and Alden Tabor. The award is supporting over 300 bright and motivated undergraduates embarking on an Electronics degree at over 30 UK universities in 2025/26. 

Award-holders will receive a comprehensive support package throughout their first year of university, including a £4,000 bursary, tailored mentoring, access to industry insights and opportunities for professional development.
The Semiconductor Talent Award is part of the Semiconductor: Skills, Talent and Education Programme (STEP), a Government funded initiative to equip more young people with the skills to thrive in the UK’s Semiconductor industry. The Award aims to encourage students to focus on semiconductors from the outset of their studies. 

Successful Induction Events across the UK 

In September 2025, Award-holders attended one of five ‘buzzing’ Induction Events, held in Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Glasgow, and online. These events were designed to inspire the next generation of Electronics Engineers by sharing valuable insights into the semiconductor landscape and highlighting rewarding careers. 

During the events:

• Speakers from industry, academia, and government shared their insights. Speakers included representatives from Arm, the Department Science, Innovation and Technology, Cadence, CSA Catapult and Siemens.
• Thirty companies exhibited, providing students with firsthand exposure to career opportunities in semiconductors. 
• Participants had opportunity to meet others embarking on a career in the semiconductor industry and begin to build a supportive network. 

Mariella, one of our award recipients said of the induction event: 

  “We had one session about getting to know each other and it explained the DISC profile system and more about L & D bursary, it was a great session with a large group of nice people. During my visit to the events for this I met people in different situations, myself I have non-academic parents and I found many people in similar cases as well as people who have more academic upbringings.”
 

Securing a talent pipeline for the UK’s Semiconductor future

The Semiconductor Talent Award is part of an overall pathway from schools’ engagement through to careers in the semiconductor industry.  Following the completion of their first year of university, Award-holders can apply for a UKESF Scholarship, which offers opportunities for paid work experience, ongoing bursaries, and industry networking. For 15 years, this Award-winning scheme has supported more than 900 undergraduates to gain meaningful work experience with over 100 electronics and technology employers. 

By supporting these undergraduates, the UKESF is helping to strengthen the UK’s Electronics and semiconductor talent pipeline, ensuring innovation, growth, and global competitiveness.
Find out more about the Semiconductor Talent Award, download the full report here.

As part of the Industrial Strategy: Digital and Technologies Sector Plan, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology has announced that there will be further support in the next 3 years. This is through a £35 million UK-wide skills programme and will include semiconductor bursaries to boost enrolment in priority degree courses and semiconductor-focused STEM outreach activities.

About UKESF 

The UK Electronics Skills Foundation (UKESF) is an educational charity established in 2010. In the UK, Electronics, especially semiconductor design and manufacture, is a growing and strategically important sector of our economy. However, the demand for capable graduates far outstrips supply.   

The UKESF works to tackle this national skills shortage in a coherent way; it operates collaboratively with major companies and leading universities. The UKESF also undertakes outreach and engagement activities to ensure that more schoolchildren are aware of Electronics and the opportunities available. This is achieved through a range of education Electronics-focused activities, projects and teacher training.