your business model in this space…if
you’re in a leadership layer, you’ve got
to be tracking things like the Gartner
emerging technology reports, because
you’ve got to be looking at the 5, 10, 20
year horizon.”
This also applies to apprenticeships
said Sarah Dhanda: “You can’t design
an apprenticeship standard and just
imagine it will be stationary for five
years. You’ve either got to have some
flex in it - so that as technology changes,
we can flex the standard - or you’ve got
to have a much faster response, so if
industry, educators and employers
are demanding change, then we
can change it without having
to go through some laborious
three-year process.”
“We need education
pathways that are able to
respond much more rapidly to
changing skills needs,” agreed
Hilary Leevers, who added that all
of this needs to be fed right back down
to the classroom. “At the moment, the
concern is that, actually, what’s being
learned in schools is getting further
away from what’s required at the end
point,” she warned.
For RS components’ James Henshaw,
changing the way that we talk to young
people about engineering will be key:
“We have a bit of mantra when we go
and talk to young people. We ask them
what they want to do, not what they
want to be. So it’s not thinking about
certain careers or certain roles, it’s
actually thinking about what am I
good at, what do I like.
Undoubtedly, many nontraditional
skills, some not
even defined yet, will shape
the engineering workplace
of the future. However, as
AMRC’s Louise Cowling
reminded the panel, it’s not
quite time to say goodbye to
traditional engineering skills
either. “Fabrication and welding is
very traditional but there is still a need
for it,” she said. “What we’re hearing
from energy companies is that if we’re
going to go to low-carbon we need more
fabrication and welding.”
we need education pathways
that are able to respond much more
rapidly to changing skills needs
Richard Jeffers -
technical director, RS
Northern Europe
33 April 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk
the importance of STEM outreach, and
the ways in which all organisations
can play a role in shoring up the future
pipeline of engineers.
Interestingly, our panel agreed that
whilst it’s important to educate young
people about the changing nature of
engineering, STEM outreach should
avoid concentrating on digital skills
at the expense of everything else.
“There’s a perception of STEM that it’s
predominantly leaning towards the
technology elements and particularly
around things like coding and the other
elements of STEM can get forgotten,”
said James Henshaw. “In our outreach
programmes we might have an element
of coding but we’ll also get a six year
old using power tools – it’s having that
right blend and mix, picking up on those
subjects that aren’t just digital.”
Taking a broader look at the role
of STEM outreach, Hilary Leevers
said that it’s important for everyone
involved - whether they’re a skills body
or an SME – to realise that it’s about
investing in the common good. “Lots
of organisations do their own STEM
outreach but will also participate in
large-scale group activities,” she said.
“And there’s a real sense of shared
mission. It’s not just about making
sure we have the direct recruits for our
particular needs, it’s about investing
in and growing the pool that
we can draw from. The whole
system around us also needs to
function, so we can’t just think
about our own needs.”
She added that her
priorities at Engineering UK
include ensuring that STEM
outreach is widely available, and
that the many STEM efforts out there
work in a joined up fashion. “It’s a very
inconsistent picture. Some schools
are all over STEM, and some just don’t
do it at all. A lot of the outreach that
we do is trying to get those schools to
start thinking about it and the different
careers that are available.”
“I don’t think the large number of
(STEM organisations) needs to be a
problem,” she added, “so long as they are
coordinated and teachers can navigate
them. We just need to be working
together to increase their reach, target
where they’re most likely to make a
difference, and make sure they’re
impacting young people in the
right way.”
Future skills
Another longer term priority
discussed by our panel was
the need for industry to think
carefully about the skills that
it might need in the future and to
ensure that the training mechanisms
in place are nimble enough to adapt to
these changing requirements. Richard
Jeffers recommended some studious
crystal-ball gazing: “It’s really hard
trying to figure out how you reinvent
Skills checklist
It’s more difficult for smaller companies
to engage on skills, but SMEs must
embrace the challenge
Don’t think about skills as something
separate – it needs to be a key part of
overall business strategy
Think long term – getting the right
people in is more important than shortterm
fixes
STEM outreach needs more joined-up
thinking as well as better measurement
of its impact
Try not to think of skills as a cost – there
can be immediate benefits as well as
longer-term gains
Create a culture where you reward
curiosity, encouraging people to seek
out their own learning
Listen to young people and observe how
they interact with technology. They are
your future workforce and customers.
James Howarth
- head of education
strategy, RS EMEA
/www.theengineer.co.uk