The Institution demonstrated how it is working closely with employers, universities and government to support the development of professional engineers, address the skills gap and provide thought leadership on how to make the most of Brexit.
Institution Business Development Managers Claire Maycock and Lara Mallett, who between them work with industrial and educational organisations in the Greater London, South Eastern, Wessex, Eastern and East Midlands regions, held the event to bring their contacts together. Their aim was to facilitate communication about placements, professional development schemes and Institution strategy including for skills and education and on Brexit. The event was kindly hosted by Brunel University.
Attendees came from a broad range of engineering sectors, and included Monitored Professional Development Scheme (MPDS) administrators, committee members, industrial liaison officers (ILOs), careers advisors and Institution representatives.
John Lambertstock, a placement and internship adviser at Brunel University, outlined the many ways in which the university relates its engineering courses to industry and supports its students with careers consultancy, placements and professional registration requirements. Brunel is one of the few universities whose student industrial placements are accredited by the Institution for MPDS. John said the event was ‘mutually valuable’.
He added: “Opportunities like this enhance the chances for our students and companies to gain the profile they both need in today’s graduate employment market.”
Claire Maycock said: “There was great interaction among the 25 delegates, with five specialists from the Institution available to listen and respond to different issues. People valued the opportunity to find out about schemes like the accredited placement scheme operated by Brunel, and to extend contact with their industry peers across regions.”
Dr Colin Brown, the Institution's Director of Engineering, gave an engaging presentation considering Brexit from an engineering perspective. Participants discussed the Institution's strategy of consultation, seeking positives, and listening to members’ priorities in addressing the agenda with Government.
Peter Finegold, the Institution's Head of Education and Skills, who also presented at the seminar, said: “The event demonstrated, among other things, the role the Institution can play in helping to develop a meaningful narrative about education as part of an industrial strategy. If today’s young people are tomorrow’s engineers, then our schools and colleges could be thought of as part of the supply chain - and should be nurtured, supported and partnered by the companies.
“I was delighted that there was agreement on this point by many of the attendees and a good deal of interest in our STEM teachers in industry initiative. I’m hoping that some of the participants will get in touch to offer placements soon. Thanks to Claire, Lara and Brunel for a highly successful event.
Edward Hansom, Professional Development Advisor at the Institution, outlined routes to professional development, including Career Learning Assessment. It is part of the portfolio of career development options discussed, for ILOs to consider with their colleagues.
Mark Young, Senior Manager, Operations, KBR, offered perspective about aspects of KBR’s experience of MPDS offering insight to those companies who are going through the process currently.
Mark Knowles, Head of Product Engineering at Bespak, attended with his colleague Gavin Kovacs. Mark said: “Bespak’s apprenticeship scheme was recently awarded accreditation by the Institution and we now wish to extend our skills training to engineering undergraduates. This event was extremely timely for us. We reviewed a real industry MPDS case study and gained valuable insight into Brunel’s approach to placements (recruitment and assignments). We are very much looking forward to working with Lara and her colleagues at the Institution to build The Bespak Scholarship.”
Lawrie Alford, Head of Automotive at the Freight Transport Association, said: “This event was informative, thought provoking and enjoyable. The delegates came from various sectors of industry but all were concerned about the future skills shortages, in particular technical and engineering recruitment. Key to solving these concerns will be attracting new entrants, “future technicians and engineers”, from colleges and universities.
"Brunel has a good structure in place to encourage work placements as part of the degree. It was clear that the employers speaking also preferred this route. Improving STEM awareness and career advice for 16-18 year olds is vital and requires additional focus at schools urgently.”
Lara Mallett said: “The event illustrated the many aspects of strategy and support that the Institution offers our contacts, from professional registration and career development to facilitating knowledge-sharing on common issues across sectors.”
Find out more about the benefits of membership of the Institution and contact the business development team.