Engineering news
A further fifteen University Technical Colleges will open in the next two years, the Department of Education has said.
The institutions will be linked to businesses and universities, and offer pupils aged 14–19 academic and technical training. They will join the network of 17 University Technical Colleges (UTCs) due to open this September and in September 2013.
The news came as business secretary Vince Cable said that some of the UK's biggest growth industries in engineering and manufacturing were facing a shortage of technicians.
Cable said: “There are some sectors that we see expanding rapidly, like pharmaceuticals, nuclear power, advanced manufacturing, IT and the railway sector – in all of which there are potentially chronic shortages of technicians. If we are to deliver the skills needed to return the economy to sustainable growth we must tackle the shortage.”
At least 450,000 trained technicians will be needed over the next eight years to meet demand, according to the UK Commission for Employment and Skills. This is in addition to the one million people already employed in such positions nationwide.
Cable added: “What makes the problem worse is that the existing technician labour force is relatively old. Although there are new people coming in, there is a massive gap in the middle where for a whole generation technicians were not being recruited.”
A recent Ipsos Mori poll revealed that 63% of young people know nothing about the work technicians do. Seventy-three per cent said they were unlikely to chose a career as a technician.
Several measures have been taken recently to address the lack of awareness and shortage of technicians. The government has launched a network of technical training colleges to support technical education, and the science council has developed a professional accreditation for registered science technicians. Accreditation for technicians in the engineering sector has been around for more than 30 years and work is ongoing to develop professional accreditation in the IT sector.
Lord Sainsbury, of the Gatsby Charitable Trust, which works in science and engineering education, said that progress was not fast enough. “With high levels of young people unemployed and economic growth at a standstill it makes little sense that employers are struggling to fill technician roles in high-value growth sectors.”
He added that three key areas needed addressing in order to solve the problem; a well-understood system of technical qualifications that works in the market; suitable lecturers to train students in laboratories and workshops that reflect the modern workplace; and a simplified funding system that supports this.
Jon Pritchard, chief executive of the Engineering Council, said: “If you have a coherent training structure that can provide a pathway for people from a variety of different backgrounds to a recognised competence then you have a chance of tackling the numbers.”
The new UTCs include:
- Warwick: business education will be offered to 640 pupils with the University of Warwick and Jaguar Land Rover
- Cambridge: will focus on biomedical and environmental science and technology with input from University of Cambridge health partners, local businesses and the Cambridge Regional College
- Elstree, Hertfordshire: around 600 pupils will be offered courses in entertainment technologies, crafts, electronic engineering and digital technology