remot e l e a r n i n g
Online learning has become
increasingly popular in
recent years but like so
many areas of remote
working its adoption has
been supercharged by the
arrival of Covid-19.
This is particularly true of
manufacturing and engineering which
has seen the introduction of a wide range
of remote training initiatives aimed at
helping employers train existing staff;
enabling furloughed or laid-off
employees to improve their skillsets; or
inspiring and engaging the tens of
thousands of students currently unable
to attend school.
One organisation at the sharp end of
this change is Sheffield’s AMRC training
centre, which – since being established
in 2013 – has become one of the UK’s
leading centres for both engineering
apprenticeship training and continuous
professional development (CPD).
Unsurprisingly, given the hands on
technical nature of manufacturing much
of this training has traditionally relied
on face to face contact, but since lock
down the centre has moved entirely to
virtual learning and put in place a series
of measures aimed at ensuring that its
apprentices are continuing to progress
with their learning.
“We locked down but we did not close
down,” said the centre’s Director Nikki
Jones. “We acted swiftly and smartly to
move over to the virtual world -
Learning in
The pandemic has prompted rapid changes to the
engineering training landscape, and many of these
changes could be here to stay. Jon Excell reports
l o c k d own
July 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk 24
economic recovery.”
Another organisation witnessing a
growing appetite for remote learning is
the Institution of Engineering and
Technology (IET), which offers a range of
courses - both technical and business
focussed - aimed at helping engineers
advance their careers and pursue
professional registration.
Much of this training is provided
online via the IET Academy, a selfdirected
learning platform ideally suited
to the remote demands of the current
environment.
Martin Davies, Head of the IET
Academy, reports a marked increase in
interest from both individuals looking to
enhance and diversify their knowledge
and skills base and corporates looking at
how they can support their employees’
learning and development needs.
Davies echoed Nikki Jones’
assessment that the changes triggered
by the Covid-19 pandemic could have a
long-term impact on the shape of the
training landscape. “The increased
engagement we have seen, and insight
published around the future of learning
during the pandemic, shows that there
could well be a major shift away from
traditional training methods to more
online and blended training provision in
the not so distant future,” he said.
And it’s not just the external training
providers who are switching their
activities online. Many engineering and
manufacturing employers have also
Image credit: Daisy Daisy/stock.adobe.com
switching our learning from the real-world classroom to
the virtual classroom.”
To make this workable the centre has provided laptops
and other IT equipment to those apprentices who need
them so they’re able to access online resources and virtual
teaching, and has also adopted a flexible learning approach
that Jones said has been critical to how the centre
supports its apprentices and their employers. “We’ve taken
a number of measures to help them adapt such as
recording our virtual classroom sessions so apprentices
can access them outside of their usual hours. We’re also
offering flexible sessions for one-to-one support and
carrying out remote workplace assessments.”
Alongside apprenticeship training, the centre has also
taken CPD provision online. “This pandemic has forced
organisations to change in such a short period of time and
our industry-focused webinars have gone that extra mile
by going online - ensuring companies can upskill their
workforce and take advantage of this new way of working
and learning brought about by the coronavirus lockdown
measures,” said Jones.
She added that the experiences of the past few months
are already shaping the centre’s future thinking on how it
delivers all forms of training, and that ultimately she
envisages a blended-learning model, that makes greater
use of digital learning alongside traditional teaching
methods. “This blended delivery will involve combining
virtual learning with the return of practical skills delivery
for small groups in a protected training environment that
follows all the latest guidance to keep staff and students
safe.
Ultimately, she said, in spite of the challenges it’s vital
that industry does everything it can to continue
developing and topping up the skills of both existing
engineers and the next generation. “It’s important we don’t
lose momentum on apprenticeships, and the reskilling
and upskilling of workers - they will play a key role in our
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