Engineers needed to ‘make it happen’

The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB) is launching a four-year campaign to improve the supply of newly-educated and trained engineers available to industry. Badged ‘Engineers Make It Happen’, the campaign will pilot activities in London, Northern Ireland and Wales. The campaign aims to support and inspire Further Education (FE) engineering students to successfully complete their courses and pursue careers in the field. Further education is playing an increasingly central role in the supply of engineers, not only training students on full-time courses and delivering components of apprentice schemes, but supporting the new 14-19 Engineering Diplomas and by providing an alternative route to university through foundation degrees. Despite this, says the ETB, many good students never make it into the engineering profession – some are lost through drop out from studies, difficulty in passing exams and appraisals, and others choose to pursue non-engineering careers. The ETB will run the campaign in partnership with a variety of organisations, such as Sector Skills Council Semta and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and through consultation with lecturers, local businesses, policy makers and education, skills and careers organisations. The ETB will also get involved in projects, such as the Bloodhound land speed record project (see pxx), to showcase exciting elements of engineering, including opportunities at technician and apprentice level for FE engineering students. The campaign includes initiatives to: · Encourage collaboration between existing organisations which promote engineering to school and college students · Provide funded opportunities with industrial companies and professional engineering institutes for college lecturers to update their industrial knowledge · Provide trained, inspirational speakers from engineering industry and research organisations to engage with students · Offer funded work placements to provide college students with hands-on experience of industry Dr Martin Thomas, engineering campaign UK director at the ETB, says: “Tightening economic conditions and growing global competition have driven demand for engineering expertise in the UK. At the same time, there are not enough engineers coming through the education system at technician and apprentice level as the number of students choosing to study engineering in further education decreases, and many courses suffer from significant non-completion. The ETB’s ‘Engineers Make It Happen’ campaign is a concerted effort to support the Further Education sector, and to make more of those students that do make it into a college classroom - this is a key part of the vocational revolution in the UK.” To find out more about the campaign, go to www.engineersmakeithappen.com