After receiving tailored guidance from Two Zero, Lancashire County Council’s scaleup service for businesses during the pandemic, an educational program provider has grown its staff to 20. They are now looking to expand their programs throughout the UK.
Primary Engineer is a non-profit organization based in Burnley that promotes engineering education and careers at UK schools. The expansion plans for Primary Engineer include introducing the program to Wales this year.
The organization’s core purpose is to develop children and young people through engineering engagement and promoting engineering careers. Industry partners include ScotRail and Hitachi, Siemens, and WEIR.
Primary Engineer also organizes various celebration events for children in engineering, with more than 100 planned for this academic year across the UK.
Dr. Susan Scurlock MBE, the founder, was a former secondary school teacher who participated in Two Zero’s Scaleup Resurgence program, which ran from the pandemic through the second half of 2020.
She moved her educational programs online and received tailored support for scaling up, including financial planning and finance. This helped position the organization for future growth.
Susan stated, “By moving many programs online during the pandemic, we discovered greater access to engineers to deliver them remotely. This has resulted in a rapid increase of specialists to support our activities.
Scaleup Resurgence was created to help scaleup companies in Lancashire get through the Covid-19 pandemic and then return them to their original scaleup path as soon as possible.
Two Zero is a Lancashire County Council-led scaleup partnership that helps scaleup leaders realize their ambitions by delivering programs, providing educational and inspirational resources, and networking opportunities with other scaleup leaders.
Cube Thinking, a business performance consultancy based in Lancashire, delivered two Zero Scaleup Reurgences.
Susan gained more experience in business planning, strategy development, and business measurement. Working alongside business leaders who faced the same challenges as her during the Covid-19 epidemic was a great benefit.
She stated, “As business professionals working together we shared the same problems but were dealing with them through various processes as we all tried to find opportunities in adversity.”
“We have since learned new ways to deliver the Primary Engineer’s programs, and we have also learned how to ensure that the business is more adaptable for the future.”
Susan believes that the organization is well-positioned to overgrow and is currently hiring more staff and expanding the number of programs available for schools.
Aidy Riggott is a county councilor and Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Growth at Lancashire County Council. She stated that programs such as Two Zero’s Scaleup Resurgence support businesses growing and reaching their full potential. Two Zero helps Primary Engineer scale up, which benefits one organization and its partners, contributing to long-term growth in the county’s engineering industry.
Jayne Rear, County Councillor, is a Cabinet Member for Education and Skills at Lancashire County Council. She stated that the Primary Engineer provides a vital service to promote engineering careers in all areas of education. Susan’s work through schools and colleges helps develop future engineers. I am proud that Lancashire County Council supported this great organization so that it can help more people in the UK.
