For those interested in the TIPS scheme,the link is here:
https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/consortia/national/teacher-industrial-partners-scheme/
Day 10
The final day of the TIPS placement was spent carrying out interviews, being filmed and presenting the findings to MTC staff, organisers and some of our students who had travelled across for a visit. The programme is being rolled out to a further 36 places next year and then it will depend on available funding as to whether this scheme should carry on – it absolutely should. There should be a commitment from the government to ensure that every secondary school has the option to develop an industry partner if we are to stand any chance of investigating, analysing and synthesising links between the education sector and industry.
But all the rhetoric comes down to the same broad issues. Yes we can enthuse our students, we can offer opportunities for them to develop their knowledge and awareness. We can take them on visits to inspire them about their future – but by doing this we run the risk of failing as a school. As we move to becoming a KS4 school I have to decide on a plan of action. Do I cancel the First Lego league, the VEX robotics, the CREST club, the Greenpower club, the Engineering club, and the many other opportunities we lay on for our students, and do I replace these lunchtime and afterschool sessions with booster classes, extra lessons, exam technique practice, revision sessions – our results would be extraordinary, we would be an outstanding school, yet I can’t help but think we would be failing our students; certainly the students who sat an listened yesterday were outraged and shocked that this could happen.
So, if I were asked to summarise the barriers between industry needs and outcomes from schools, it would be this: There are thousands of teachers up and down the country pushing the importance of the STEM agenda. We are becoming more aware (through schemes like TIPS) of what industry needs in terms of key skills, knowledge and awareness but whilst the government insists on measuring our success in terms of examination pass rates it is highly unlikely that there will be a significant shift in attitude, action and outcome. I and many other teachers know what is best for the students we teach, we know when they can learn in a classroom setting and we know when they learn better outside of the classroom. An intelligent, able student with the skills required to support the growth of British industry is not necessarily a student who can pass a written exam and as soon as education policy makers recognise this me might stand a chance of making a difference….but we already know that don’t we!
Jo Cox, Senior Leader STEM, Redmoor Academy
Day 9
The penultimate day of my time at the MTC – and what an incredible experience it has been. I spent most of today with the team responsible for the new AMTC (Advanced Manufacturing Technical College) and the opportunities that are going to be available to youngsters – post GCSEs, post A-levels, post graduation is just incredible. It has certainly made me question my personal belief about universities and I’m confident that if I had a child wanting to go into engineering I would be giving this pathway serious consideration. A student can still become a graduate engineer by starting off as an apprentice – granted they won’t get the university-life experience but maybe we do need to rethink the benefits (salaried employment, no student debt, exposure to and mentoring from experienced engineers, extensive experience on current and developmental machinery, superb retention rates into the industry) rather than the negatives – would be interesting to find out what experienced engineers think about this alternative route.
I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the new AMTC in the virtual reality cave – this technology is jut stunning – although it was rather embarrassing when I almost ‘virtually’ toppled over the balcony! I was able to see room layouts, workshop spaces and the new lecture theatre, which will be available for organisations to hire.
Tomorrow, I will be presenting my findings to the organisers of the TIPS scheme so I will leave my summary until then……
Day 8
Spent today with the Metrology, NDT and simulation 40- strong team, who between them have 21 PHDs, 14 MScs and 5 BScs. This is clearly a massive hub of intellectual capacity – all using differential equations to simulate manufacturing processes….it was all about the maths! As I was shown various processes for simulating manufacturing techniques, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons to the games that teenagers play on their devices. In fact , they actually described their job as ‘ coming to work to play’ albeit using highly complex mathematical skills.
Amongst this team there was a clear opinion that all graduate programmes should include some industrial work experience . There was lots of enthusiasm to do outreach work and they recognised the need to liaise with schools to raise awareness. Interestingly it was suggested that the greatest barrier to changing perceptions about the manufacturing industry was the views of students’ parents.
So here’s a few questions to ponder today:
1) would you (as a parent) encourage your child to enter the manufacturing industry? (if not why ?)
2) would you as a parent encourage your child to start an apprenticeship even If they were academically able to get good passes at A level.
As an aside, one engineer told me about his sons’ experience who was discouraged, by the college running the course, to undertake an apprentice course….. because they felt he was too bright. This completely demoralised him and he ended up doing A levels which he absolutely didn’t want to do (due to his severe dyslexia) . So, I guess question 3 would have to be: why can’t you have a bright student on an apprentice scheme, does that suggest the course has no academic stimulus . My experiences this week suggest that that is not the case. Perhaps the course leaders just felt he would do better/ be more successful doing an A level course……so what does that say about the value they place on a scheme they themselves are running?
Day 7
Today was all about automation and the developments being made in British manufacturing. The consensus, held by the general public, is that automation has an adverse effect on the job market – robots take the jobs of skilled workers. In reality, it seems that automation speeds up output, frees up personnel to do other things and has a positive effect on the economy. Whatever your view the developments in this field are awe-inspiring. From discussions about cyber-physical and augmented reality systems to the autonomous factory, it seems the use of robotics in this industry is on the increase and I can’t help but think that those pupils involved in schemes such as First Lego League and Vex robotics are putting themselves way ahead of their future competition. The engineers I spoke to today admitted that they got to ‘play’ with the best in robotics imaginable – I can pinpoint many of our teenagers who would do anything to get a job like this (not to mention the odd IT teacher I know!). And what do you need to do this? An excellent understanding of mathematical principles to degree level and beyond – this career is most definitely for those high functioning engineers who can identify a problem and solve it. The competition to get into this field is immense and students really do need to stand out in terms of what they have to offer.
With this in mind, I was told today that the education system does not teach pupils to think – a skill essential for engineers – and this perhaps was the first time I felt the industry was completely wrong – perhaps there needs to be a role-reversal of TIPS and industry leaders need to come into schools to see exactly what the students of today can do – but perhaps I’m biased? When I think about it, the high level thinking, combined with problem solving, isn’t fully addressed in all lessons, or at least not to any significant degree; perhaps that’s contentious but how many us are so focused on getting through content, meeting objectives, following a scheme of work, that we sometimes forget to consider ‘how’ the pupils are learning. The greatest progress in this area is seen in those students who attend extracurricular clubs and activities, who have to be resilient, organised, self motivated etc. Seeing what was on offer today confirmed my belief that schools like Redmoor are getting it exactly right – the skills they are developing outside of the classroom are incredibly valuable. I’ve not yet come across one industry employee who had any sort of extracurricular STEM opportunity, whilst they were at school, and they have all been stunned by what pupils of today get up to outside of their lessons – the opportunities they have and their understanding of what engineering is all about at such a young age has certainly changed some perceptions here – perhaps the future is bright for our future engineers and the UK industry.
Part of the day was spent with the IT dept. and one of their main concerns was that they weren’t necessarily worried about having anyone with particular software skills but more about having someone with a good understanding of how a network operates, how computers communicate with each other and other devices. He raised the question as to whether that is even taught in schools as his experiences didn’t suggest they were. Can anyone enlighten us on that? We had a look at the spec for ks2-4 and it suggested that students should have an understanding of networking but we were unsure as to the depth being taught.
I then spent some time with a senior workshop manager who was new to the job and we discussed in detail the themes that had come to light so far. I should point out that the general view from industry is that the TIPS scheme is incredibly valuable and if perceptions are changed, it can only support the initiatives of the industry. He was basically saying the same thing that people had been saying all week…there needs to be an overhaul of the apprentice scheme in terms of naming, conventions, perceptions etc. People need to see the value of the two alternative routes into engineering – they are alternatives with equal importance for the progression of the UK manufacturing industry. Interestingly I heard an alternative view today that certain sectors didn’t value the apprentice scheme because it was so diverse. An ‘apprentice’ may have done a months placement, or 6 months placement – compared to the apprentices here who do a 4 year training scheme I can see how confusion and misconceptions arise. In addition, it seems the SMEs don’t appoint apprentices either as they cannot afford to train them – they need skilled employees from the start – something they cannot find. For companies like the MTC, Rolls Royce, JLR who can offer training schemes it then becomes hugely beneficial to these smaller organisations who can then appoint trained and skilled staff.
I was taken on a tour of the machinery by a young man who must surely be the best ambassador for the apprentice scheme imaginable. He was articulate, intelligent, insightful and what he didn’t know about the current developments in advanced manufacturing techniques must surely not be worth knowing. He had done a week’s work-experience, in year 10, at an engineering company where his father worked. Prior to this he had taken part in no extracurricular STEM activities but knew he liked the idea of being an engineer. As a bright teenager, he had passed all his GCSEs with A to C grades (I suspect more As than Cs as he was very modest!) and had started 4 A levels in maths, chemistry, biology and physics. As far as I can make out he had continued to do work experience after school and had come across the apprentice scheme website. He applied for an apprenticeship at the MTC, for which he needed a C grade GCSE in maths, english and science. I asked what encouragement he had got from his school, to which the answer was none. As a bright pupil who had an interest in being an engineer he had clearly been directed down the A level and university route which is not surprising at all – how many teachers would have suggested an alternative route if he was an academic student, guaranteed to get good A level passes? . Off his own back he found his way into the MTC and 4 years later here he was teaching me about the applications of these cutting edge techniques. It struck me that he would make a superb ambassador for the apprenticeship route and would be a massive source of encouragement for pupils who know they want to enter the engineering field, yet equally know that they are not necessarily going to be able to get those high A level grades required. His next step is to finish his qualifications and take his experience ‘upstairs’ to where the engineers are based. If he secures good grades he will be offered the chance to complete an engineering degree which is what he hopes to do next….a clear career progression. It has been said, several times that the better engineers are those with workshop experience- and that surely stands to reason if they can temper their research with a knowledge of what the available machinery and equipment is actually capable of doing?
There’s the start of a useful debate for a Friday……views anyone?
Day 4
Day 3
So, carrying on the theme from yesterday…..I wonder if the paucity of replies suggested an answer that perhaps we don’t want to consider – as teachers, we wouldn’t be recommending an apprenticeship route for our more able pupils – they would be encouraged to follow a more traditional route of A-levels and then university. I wonder how often that is indeed the case? Hopefully later in the week I will be spending some time with another group of apprentices who chose not to go to university despite their clear ability.
Today, I was with the Industrial Partners team as they hosted a visit from business customers of Lloyds bank (I hadn’t realised they were originally established as the bank of manufacturers and engineers 250 years ago). They too were hugely in favour of apprenticeships, quoting the 1% in the UK, compared with the 5% of industry sector workers in Germany who had followed this route. In truth, I had never considered ‘manufacturing’ as an interesting career pathway….it’s just something that gets done by large multimillion pound companies – but today that perception was blown right out of the water. I listened to manufacturers and engineers from such a diverse range of industries that by the end of the day I seriously wanted to turn back time and start my career all over again. Who would have considered the exciting wealth of opportunities on offer from a company that makes yoghurts, furniture fittings, lighting systems and the scent industry; listening to the director of a company that adds odours to washing powders and air fresheners with his plants in Bogotá and South East Asia, the amount of travelling he gets to do and the range of people he comes across certainly sold the manufacturing industry as a career to consider. Yet the sad reality is that the overall perception from these guys is that they cannot recruit. They are turning to oversees employees, to more mature engineers and technicians – there simply isn’t the right calibre of young people wanting to enter the industry. The smaller companies couldn’t afford their own apprenticeship schemes and were looking for schools and colleges to deliver. Unfortunately, the manufacturing industry is not perceived to be exciting, cutting edge, dynamic…and yet there we were today discussing 3D metallic printing, laser welding, environmentally sensitive robotic automation – it was breath taking.
At the end of the day we got to visit the virtual reality cave – I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I was about this. We were told about one blue chip industry that had saved themselves £500,000 in half an hour by spotting a simple error in this 3D virtual simulation. It was like a bunch of kids at a fairground – shoes kicked off and a hustle to be first at the 3D goggles so that we could be fully immersed in this futuristic environment. I could imagine the difficulty we would have getting our students out of here if they were allowed to visit!
This experience is certainly ticking some of the #TIPS boxes – if they wanted me to be more familiar with the wealth and diversity of careers in this industry….job done!
Day 2
Today was very much a fact-finding exercise and most of the days’ discussions, with marketing, business management, apprentices, was spent discussing the perception of this scheme. I spoke to apprentices in business management and engineering and their views were fairly uniform: three of the 9 students I spoke to had opted for the apprenticeship scheme rather than A levels – even though their teachers were recommending the A level and university route. At the point of making their own minds up about taking an apprenticeship they felt they were ‘side lined’ by their teachers as if they had made the wrong decision. They received no encouragement and it was seen very much as a negative step – even though all 3 are now fully engaged in their chosen professions, earning good money with an almost 100% guarantee of being offered a permanent job once they complete their studies. The other 6 were not students who would necessarily be encouraged to take A levels – several described themselves as being ‘rebellious’ in lessons and they ALL felt that they had failed in terms of education – even though some had good GCSE grades in science, electronics, and DT. Without exception, they felt as if their teachers had no interest in them, they were given little or no careers advice and found the apprenticeship scheme off their own backs. None had participated in or ever been offered the chance to partake in extracurricular studies, yet here they were, working in a multibillion pound industry, on cutting edge engineering and technological initiatives, earning good money with the option of sponsorship through further training at the end of their course. One of the apprentices made an interesting point ‘you’d never get anyone from a private school doing an apprenticeship’ – I wonder if that is the case? When asked which route offers the best candidates the managers were unanimous – apprenticeships schemes deliver qualified engineers, trained in current manufacturing processes, working with the latest technology and better able to meet the needs of the company – yes there is obviously a place for that higher level theoretical thinking that a graduate can deliver but once they enter the profession they are starting several years behind the apprentices.
These apprentices are VERY highly regarded in the industry – not so in the education sector it seems?
Day 1
What an incredible day! As soon as I entered the MTC today I was met by the friendliest set of people I’ve ever come across, working in a truly unique setting with the most desirable catering facilities ever(!) Shadowing the director of operations for the day gave me a true insight into how this government-funded research facility operates. Working with over 70 industry partners on core research programmes, they really are making ground-breaking developments in manufacturing and technology and providing unique apprenticeship and engineering opportunities for school leavers and graduates alike; The range of opportunities was breath-taking and if ever a young person needed persuading that the STEM careers sector was the biggest area of growth, they only needed to look at the projected vacancies board to be convinced. My guided tour included an overview of the workshop areas, where I will spending time later this week getting to grips with some of the innovative projects, in metrology and robotic automation, taking place there. I have been promised a session in the virtual reality ‘cave’ where, hopefully, I will be able to take a tour of the MTC college that will be opening next summer. In truth, we spent a good proportion of the day discussing key skills that, in their experience (i.e. the industry sector), school leavers lack – resourcefulness, ownership, resilience….all skills that we (as teachers) believe pupils learn better when they are outside of the classroom as opposed to in it – now there’s a discussion that promises to develop!
Background
TIPS is a pilot scheme run by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in partnership with the National Science Learning Centre and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. The aim is for STEM teachers to get a better feel for the diversity of employment opportunities and to get a sense of how modern engineering industry operates – ultimately with the aim of building long term partnerships between employers and education establishments.
So, with that in mind I am heading off to the Manufacturing Technology Centre tomorrow to start a 2 week placement (http://www.the-mtc.org/). I’m fairly open-minded as to what to expect but excited at the prospect of developing some important links that can only benefit our students. I will be spending time with the Finance and Marketing departments, the Industrial Partnership Managers, heading off to departments entitled Automation, Tooling & Fixturing, Metrology Informatics and Simulation…..if anyone wants to shed any light on what that all means I’m quite happy to be enlightened!
As far as my new industrial partners are concerned, their aim is to ‘change the perception of manufacturing and engineering as a preferred career path’ – it will be interesting to match up our preconceived ideas about what each sector (education and industry) is doing to promote engineering as a chosen career.
Redmoor STEM 
Reblogged this on Science Learning Centres Blog and Video Bank and commented:
An almost live blogging experience of our new Teacher Industrial Partnership scheme from Jo Cox at Redmoor Academy. Some fabulous insights into apprentices experiences and views from their time at school to becoming apprentices.