Sheffield Engineering Centre provides students with
state-of-the-art equipment, industry standard technology and access
to leading experts from the sector. Young people who access the
site can enjoy interactive teaching on varying elements of
engineering including design, construction and electronics. The
centre features four fully operational workshops and three
classrooms, complete with desktop computers and interactive
projector screens. Courses delivered in the centre include NVQs,
Young Apprenticeships and the Engineering Diploma.
Students learn about the different aspects of
the sector, including its history and key projects. Classes, both
in the workshops and in the classroom, are led by industry experts
who have decades of experience working in engineering. Industry
partners, such as Boeing and Unite, the national union, also
regularly visit the centre to offer workshop or classroom sessions
to students, highlighting key engineering practices. The
Engineering Diploma for example features extensive levels of
teaching, hands-on workshops and talks.
Neil Hughes has been in the engineering sector
for 20 years and teaches at the Engineering Centre. He says, "It's
fantastic to work closely with the schools and partners to deliver
a high standard of teaching to the students. We have received
feedback from people within the industry on how impressed they are
by the extremely high standard of learning.
"The students don't learn skills that are
exclusively useful for the engineering sector; they learn about
employee responsibility, task management, time keeping, following
instructions and respecting authority. These are skills and
experiences that are fully transferrable into other working
environments and that is one of the key advantages of the
Engineering Diploma."
Wendy Miller, who also teaches at the centre,
added, "The success of the centre has a lot to do with the fact
that all the students who attend are here because they have chosen
to do the Diploma. The centre is benefitting from having the
students here."
Students who visit the Engineering Centre have
the opportunity to meet face-to-face with industry representatives
who are partners of the centre. One such partner is Unite the Union
- the largest union in the UK which includes all sectors notably
manufacturing, technical, finance, transport, energy and health but
specifically the skilled engineering trades which exist in and
around Sheffield.
Martin Redgrave is the Regional Learning
Organiser with Unite and has been meeting with groups of students
at the Engineering Centre. He says, "We are working with the team
in the centre to ensure the employment rights section of the
Diploma provides a clear understanding of the responsibilities of
both employers and employees.
"It is important that young people who want to
move into the industry have a clear understanding of what is
involved at every level of engineering. This includes the practical
hands on education but also the workplace situations they'll surely
encounter, upon progression into the real working
environment.
"The employment rights and responsibilities
strand of the Diploma is not exclusive to engineering and can be
delivered across the range of Diploma subjects. I think that's one
of the advantages of the Diplomas - they aren't limited to just one
sector."
Email Emma Hayes for more
information