STEM

Chaired by David Hester, the STEM Committee represents members across all disciplines. The committee meets on the third Monday of each month.

Committee Membership

Most committee meetings are also attended by an IoM Government representative from the Department for Enterprise and the Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce.

About the committee

Our aim is to support Chamber members and the sustainability science, technology, engineering and manufacturing businesses on the Isle of Man by providing the voice of industry into Government and associated bodies. We have established sub-committee working groups to tackle the common themes that have been identified from member surveys.

Sub-committees

Utility Forum

This group is focused on efficiency of utility resources, cost savings and sharing of best practice. The aim is to increase our understanding of what is driving our energy usage and costs and work together to reduce these for participating businesses. The group meets several times a year to share experiences, learn from one another and occasionally listen to guest speakers on a relevant energy/utility related topic. This sub-committee is open to members from other sectors as well as STEM manufacturing / engineering businesses. (Following the recent retirement of Richard Bujko, the committee will consider moving this agenda to the Cleantech forum facilitated by IoM Gov / DfE)

Engineering Sector Skills Group (ESSG)

This group is focused on increasing skills availability for engineering and manufacturing businesses on the island. The group has established the ACE programme, (Awareness of Careers in Engineering), which aims to raise awareness within schools and college that engineering represents a real and highly valued career opportunity on the Isle of Man. We have enrolled an Engineering Skills Champion, sponsored by participating companies and Government. The Champion animates IoM engineering and manufacturing through classroom workshops and generally flies the flag for Chamber and our sector at exhibitions, careers events, competitions and parents’ evenings.

In addition, a key project of the group was to focus on delivering an intensive fast track ‘apprenticeship’ scheme for developing manufacturing skills. This is a joint initiative between manufacturers, IoM College (UCM), DfE and DEC. This new course offers 36 student places each year. It has been named the Engineering & Manufacturing Apprenticeship and is run at the newly refurbished Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre (AMTC) in Hills Meadow. The funding was made available for this facility as a direct result of the ESSG’s collaboration with Government.

The steering group members for ACE are currently: David Hester, Chris Allen, Colin Bagshaw, John Christian, Kirree Gooberman (representing DfE); and our ACE Champion is Lorna Trevethan (PDMS).  Separate meetings for the ESSG group have been discounted to focus purely on ACE.

Technology Sub-Committee
This sub-committee is responsible for identifying new technologies that may be of benefit to the sector companies and bringing these to the attention of the committee. This includes organizing speakers and events to showcase new technologies. This initiative also complements the work done by the aerospace cluster in its quarterly forums. (Led by Simon Radcliffe)

Related Groups

Aerospace Cluster (IOMAC)
Many manufacturers are engaged in aerospace manufacturing/engineering activity on the Isle of Man. This group aims to provide a forum for joint working, sharing of intelligence, introducing new technology, networking, learning and initiatives specific to aerospace. The group has forged strong links with the North West Aerospace Alliance and has held quarterly forums for the past several years. The Chair of IOMAC is Kirree Gooberman (DfE, IOM Gov) and the Deputy Chair is David Hester.

Engineering & Manufacturing Waste Sustainability Committee

This committee was formed as a joint initiative between the DoI and the E&M committee (now STEM). It is focused on ensuring that the island provides an appropriate infrastructure for handling of manufacturing waste. Of particular focus currently is the disposal of hazardous waste. Hazardous waste is a by-product for many manufacturers on the Isle of Man for which limited disposal routes are available at high cost to the businesses that produce it. The sub-committee is currently driving projects to maintain and improve a regular and reliable hazardous waste disposal service. Other topics that have been discussed through this forum are oil wastes, metal wastes, effluent and timber waste. The meeting is typically attended by representatives from DoI, MUA, SUEZ, DED and other manufacturing companies. The work done to build a new hazardous waste transfer station at the Energy from Waste plant was as a direct result of the collaboration of this committee with Government. (Led by Department of Infrastructure; and our key E&M representative is Chris Allen)

In addition to reviewing the activities of the sub-committees the main STEM Committee is also engaged in:

• Monitoring proposed legislation changes
• Participating in consultations
• Raising the profile of the Chambers E&M sector through media, newsletters and events
• Discussing topical subjects relevant to members
• Safety and Environmental matters
• Community engagement
• Government lobbying and advocacy 

Learn more

Learn more about our other committees here