Teachers to receive engineering work experience

The Teacher Industrial Partners' scheme (TIPS), launched in conjunction with Project ENTHUSE, the National Science Learning Centre and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), will see teachers receive two-week work placements in engineering firms around the UK. Peter Finegold, head of education and skills at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said: "The aim with this scheme is to provide teachers with an authentic experience of what takes place in modern engineering and manufacturing organisations. "We want to see a cadre of Stem teachers who would be able to be confident not only to talk to their students about jobs in engineering but also pass on their own personal knowledge and experience of their placements to their colleagues." Firms around the UK have already signed up to the scheme, including the Manufacturing Technology Centre, according to the IMechE. During the work experience teachers will experience a broad programme of activities that take place in the organisation. This will not only involve a look at the technical roles available but also other areas including communications, media and pr to demonstrate the scope of job opportunities available in engineering and manufacturing firms. This follows a poll by the Institution that revealed 42% of the 2,030 asked think careers advice and guidance in UK secondary schools is poor, with just 26% saying it's adequate. Only 10% believe the advice is good. Finegold said: "Good careers guidance in our schools is the engine of social mobility. We know that young people look to their teachers for advice, yet only 9% of the UK population feels that teachers have a good overall understanding of business and industry." See also http://bit.ly/1tLvg7l