There could well be a major
shift away from traditional training
methods to more online and blended
traiining provision
25 July 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk
expanded their own remote training
offerings. ABB Robotics, for instance, has
made its range of robot training courses,
usually held at its training centre in
Milton Keynes, available online; whilst
Siemens Digital Industries is running
daily #TechTalks seminar to help clients
get the most out of its products and
solutions.
Meanwhile, a number of
developments in the online skills space
are aimed specifically at driving the
development of the so-called digital
skills that are thought to be critical to
the post-pandemic recovery of the UK’s
industrial base.
For instance, Rolls-Royce Plc has
made its celebrated digital skills training
programme, the so-called “Digital
Academy”, available for free for anyone
factory – guides players through a series
of levels aimed at assessing their
cerebral and dexterity strengths.
During the game, artificial
intelligence algorithms monitor players’
performance and assess their aptitude
for a raft of skills including observation
and assessment; resilience; digital
competence; problem solving and
critical reasoning.
At the end of the game players are
given a call to action that encourages
them to think about how skills
unearthed by the game might be applied
in the real world. Enginuity ultimately
plans to include educational bursaries
and other career-boosting rewards for
players.
Meanwhile, mindful of the challenges
that teachers are facing, Engineering UK
is piloting a new digital platform that
brings together quality engineering
outreach opportunities and inspiring
careers resources.
Already under development before
the current crisis struck the new
platform, Neon, has been adapted to
include virtual and online engineering
experiences that can be accessed
remotely. Teacher and contributor
feedback from the pilot will be used to
develop Neon further ahead of a full
launch with more experiences in the
autumn.
The Royal Academy of Engineering
has also launched its own STEM
response to the crisis, the Engineers in
the Making competition, which
encourages school children aged 7 to 14
to take on challenges and show off their
creativity and problem-solving skills.
A new challenge is being set every
two weeks and students will be asked to
send in photos or a short video along
with one or two sentences to explain
what they did. The best entries can
choose from a selection of prizes
including a power and play K.Nex set or
a robot to build and programme. The
Academy has also compiled all of its
Science, Technology, Engineering and
Maths (STEM) challenges in one place
for use by teachers working remotely
with their students or by parents
home-schooling their children. Find out
more at raeng.org.uk/stem-at-home
to access. With courses on topics ranging from data science
and AI to coding and digital culture this content has been
used to train 20,000 Rolls employees in the last two years,
and is now being offered to the wider world in an effort to
help drive up digital knowledge.
Another initiative along these lines has seen the skills
body Enginuity (formerly Semta) join forces with Made
Smarter to launch a new digital platform known as Engage.
Originally due to be launched later in the year, Engage
has been fast tracked to help upskill furloughed and laid-off
workers in the digital processes and skills that will, it is
hoped, support a post-COVID-19 productivity boost.
The platform is being expanded all of the time but
currently hosts content from organisations including the
High Value Manufacturing Catapult, IET and Made Smarter,
with whom Enginuity has worked to develop and curate two
introductory courses on digital technology and its role in
manufacturing and engineering.
Commenting on the new platform, Ann Watson, CEO
Enginuity Group explained: “There is no doubt that
engineers will be on the frontline in the battle for economic
recovery and this digital initiative will play its part ensuring
that as many as possible are equipped to deal with the
challenges ahead.”
Enginuity is also one of a number of organisations that
have been exploring new ways of engaging with the nation’s
locked-down school-age students, and has joined forces
with the Prince’s Trust to launch Skills Miner, an online
game aimed at unearthing hidden young peoples’ hidden
engineering skills.
Based on the popular Minecraft video game, which
enables players to create their own worlds and experiences,
Skills Miner – which is set in an electric car showroom and
ABB Robotics is one of a
large number of organisations
to make its training courses
available online
/www.theengineer.co.uk
/stem-at-home