Both nationally and locally, there is a skills shortage in the Engineering sector and, as far back as 2015, we identified the priority to work with local businesses, training providers, schools and other partners to raise the profile of the Engineering sector and promote the sector.
The key areas of focus were the promotion of engineering as a career opportunity and the recruitment and retention of employees already employed within the sector.
When Year of Engineering was launched at the start of this year, it was clear that national initiative supported our local strategy for the sector and we devised a year-long plan to promote the Year of Engineering and support our local strategy.
All the activities were successfully implemented and promoted in conjunction with the Year of Engineering calendar topics on the Economic Development team social media pages, in the team’s Going for Growth newsletter and in the local press. This success would not have been possible without the support and contribution from the Technical Skills Development Group, local businesses, training providers and schools.
Peter Burden, Chairman of the TSDG and Director of KDC Group said, “It is essential to the local economy that young people are encouraged to consider a career in engineering and opportunities on offer to them with the engineering sector.
The TSDG are very pleased to have been invovled in working in partnership with Christchurch and East Dorset Council’s Economic Development team, engineering companies and schools on specific projects to support the Year of Engineering and look forward to continuing to support the Engineering sector in the future.”
Sue Racster, Head of Human Resources, Ultra Electronics said, “We always welcome the opportunity for our employees to talk directly to students about the Apprenticeship programme we offer at Ultra Electronics. We’re proud to say that many of our engineers and technicians have come through the Apprenticeship route. It’s a valued and well invested way into employment within our industry. Meeting with students and parents is vital to help inform first-hand the opportunities on their doorstep, the huge potential apprenticeships offer and the career progression available thereafter. Encouraging our next generation of students to enter Science, Technology, Engineering and Math based careers is vital to ensure the future of our world class capability in engineering and manufacturing.”
Many of our engineers have been recruited through the programme and it good for the students to see first hand the career progression Apprenticeships offer to engineers of the future.”
As part of our support for the Year of Engineering, we devised a communications plan to support all our planned activities and each was promoted on our social media pages with reference to the Year of Engineering via tagging ie @YoEgovuk and hashtags #YoE. We also included articles in our monthly Going for Growth newsletter.
The activities included in our Year of Engineering plan included:
Careers in Engineering event – the most recent and successful event this was held last month at Curtiss-Wright premises at Aviation Business Park, Bournemouth Airport. Close to 600 people attended the event which offered students and their parents/guardians to meet with nineteen international employers in engineering based in Dorset.
BTEC Level 3 in Engineering at The Grange – In September this year, The Grange School welcomed the first group of students to study BTEC Level 3 in Engineering at the school. With our support the school has built good relationships with local employers to enable the delivery of the course at The Grange. We have also assisted in arranging student visits to the premises of local engineering businesses.
Young Generation – We featured an article and blog in our Going for Growth newsletter which focused on the younger generation of engineers working for local engineering businesses.
Work Experience – Student placements can prove to be very beneficial to students and employers alike. However, it is essential that the employer is well prepared in order for them and the student to get the most out of the placement. We published a blog article outlining the benefits of offering work experience placements to students.
Investing in staff to support future business success – Ensuring the engineering sector is thriving locally is as much about retaining the current workforce as it is about recruiting new employees. We featured a blog article which addressed the importance of investing in current staff to support future success of the engineering sector.
School strategies for generating an interest in Engineering – In September we supported Ferndown Upper School in arranging an assembly for Year 10 students which focused on careers in engineering with local employers. Representatives from the local employers were invited in to speak about their business and apprenticeship programme. The event was a preamble to the School Careers Event which took place a couple of weeks later.
Apprenticeship Levy Seminar – Our eighth Apprenticeship Levy seminar was held at Cobham PLC and achieved the highest number of delegates to date. The event was open to employers from all sectors but enabled us to highlight the modern facilities at Cobham PLC and include presentation from Gerry Bishop, Emerging Talent Manager at Cobham PLC on their successful and long-standing Apprenticeship Programme. A video was produced of the guest speakers from the event to assist in raising the profile of future Apprenticeship seminars.
Teachers STEM CPD Day – This event provided teachers and career advisors with an update on the engineering sector and career opportunities. Video recorded at the event to promote future event. A video was produced which included speakers and delegates. The video emphasised the value of these events in informing and advising teachers on industry developments particularly in the engineering sector.
Enabling Rural Productivity Conference – Workshops at the conference included Agri-tech sector development and precision farming to increase productivity. Both areas highlighted how Engineering based development in the agricultural sector have improved the working lives of those employed in the sector.
The conference was attended by a member of our team and promoted on the Economic Development team social media pages and in the team’s Going for Growth newsletter.
Fuller Working Lives – This workshop was delivered in partnership with the National Careers Service and Department for Work and Pensions and focused on retaining, retraining and recruiting employees over 50 years of age in engineering sector. The Economic Development team devised a promotional campaign using social media and newsletter articles to promote the event. The campaign was successful in attracting delegates and the course being oversubscribed.
SWMAS Introduction to Leadership Programme and Productivity Improvement Programme (Lean) – Both courses were delivered as part of the TDSG Training Programme. The Leadership course had a phenomenal interest, from the one session originally offered, four sessions were delivered due to demand.
Mini Big Bang Event – Employers in Engineering from Christchurch and East Dorset took part in the ‘Mini Big Bang’ at Bournemouth and Poole College, an event designed to introduce students to the world of STEM.
Promotion of Women in STEM – Teachers and Careers Advisors from schools across Christchurch and East Dorset were contacted by the Economic Development team and encouraged to attend this event at Bournemouth and Poole College.
For us this is not a one year programme. Increasing and sustaining employee numbers in the engineering sector remains a priority for our team and we are planning more events in the future to raise the profile of a sector which contributes significantly to the local and national economy.