Waterford students get insight into an engineering career on the south coast
'Young people must see themselves as innovators'
To mark STEPS Engineers Week 2025, EirGrid, the operator and developer of Ireland’s electricity grid, met with students in Ardscoil Na Mara in Tramore and De La Salle College, Waterford to highlight the variety of careers available in engineering and the importance of the profession.
STEPS Engineer’s Week, managed by Engineers Ireland, aims to promote engineering education, celebrate innovation, and encourage the future engineering workforce.
Waterford native and Senior Project Engineer with EirGrid, Brian Davy spoke with over 150 students about their ideas of renewable energy, the work of engineers and how everyone could work together to tackle societal challenges like climate change.
“Young people must see themselves as innovators, equipped to tackle pressing global challenges, such as climate change.
“School visits like these offer a valuable opportunity to inspire students, providing them with insights to potential future careers and showcasing how they can contribute to Ireland’s ambitious goal of sourcing eighty percent of our electricity from renewable sources.”
During the session students learned about EirGrid’s role in managing the electricity grid, the future of offshore wind in Ireland and the role of engineers in creating a more sustainable transmission system.
The Powering Up Offshore - South Coast project, led by EirGrid, will see the delivery of grid transmission infrastructure including offshore substations and underwater cables, to connect offshore renewable energy resources to points on the onshore grid along the south coast, including county Waterford.
“When delivered, this key infrastructure will have the capacity to bring 900 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity onto the national grid, enough to power nearly a million homes,” explains Davy.
EirGrid currently employs engineers from a diverse range of engineering backgrounds, including new graduates as part of the EirGrid graduate programme.
Civil, electrical, structural, sustainability and IT engineers work alongside a host of other professions to ensure the constant development and efficiency of the national electricity grid.