9 minute read
SKILLS
Firms sign up to support degree apprenticeship
Siemens Gamesa, the renewable energy arm of the multinational manufacturing conglomerate, is among the firms to have signed up to a new University of Nottingham degree apprenticeship that aims to create a new pipeline of businessready engineering talent.
The university believes its electro-mechanical engineering course will transform the way companies attract recruits and upskill existing staff – ultimately producing apprentices who can solve business-specific problems with both mechanical and electrical engineering expertise.
Starting in September this year, the degree apprenticeship develops technical skills in design, testing and analysis, as well as the soft skills that enable graduates to be effective members of an engineering team.
Employer-specific project work is a major theme throughout the blended learning and block release programme – empowering apprentices to foster skills, knowledge and behaviours by solving engineering challenges that are unique to their place of work.
Dr Rowland Travis, associate professor and programme director, said: “This is a brand-new degree apprenticeship standard and we wanted to be quick out of the blocks offering it.
“It is for anyone looking to develop core analytical skills in electro-mechanical engineering,
including the fundamental mathematical techniques they will need to utilise, concepts of signals, analogue and digital systems, and later on in areas such as solid mechanics and dynamics, thermofluids, power and energy, electrical energy conversion, energy conditioning and energy sustainability.
“This expertise is sought after in industries spanning aerospace, energy, and oil and gas, to mainstream engineering firms and equipment manufacturers. The transferability of skills acquired on this course will be a huge asset.”
Many businesses, large and small, are already on board with the new degree apprenticeship, including Siemens Gamesa.
The company’s graduate and apprentice co-ordinator Lynn Morris said the company could offer students work experience, a salary and sponsorship for their degree.
“The main benefit to the company is that this bridges the gap between academic theory and practical skills learned in the workplace,” she added.
“The result is an individual who is work-ready with commercial awareness, high level workplace skills and a degree.
“Offering this type of apprenticeship, we hope to attract enthusiastic, inquisitive students with a passion for renewable energy who might be looking for an alternative route to a bright career in engineering.”
For employers, degree apprenticeships provide a costeffective approach to workforce development.
Businesses with a wage bill exceeding £3m can fund the programme from their apprenticeship levy.
Firms whose wage bill is under this threshold can still access this programme for their employees, and may be eligible for 95% Government co-investment.
The university said it also means they can invest in the technical skills of staff who will drive the innovation abilities of their organisation for years to come, and attract and retain top talent by giving employees the opportunity to gain a degree without paying tuition fees.
Adam Clare, faculty lead for apprenticeships and professor of manufacturing engineering at the University of Nottingham, added: “The challenge for many organisations is how to keep young people and train them to deliver value in their future.
“What the degree apprenticeship route offers is elite skills development for everyone, providing an attractive path to recruiting new staff and a way to upskill current employees while solving workplace-specific challenges in the process.
“Apprentices will have the opportunity to study alongside engineers form other leading businesses, developing their own contacts.”
Training to help post-pandemic recovery
Adults can now retrain at advanced level in subjects vital to help the UK’s post-pandemic recovery for free as part of the Government’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
Since 1 April, any adult aged 24 and over who wants to achieve their first full Level 3 qualification, which is equivalent to an advanced technical certificate or diploma, or two A levels, will be able to access dozens of fully-funded courses.
Those aged 19 to 23 will continue to be eligible for their first full Level 3 at no cost, as before.
North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) is one of the Chamber members offering fulltime courses in the priority sectors of construction, engineering, automotive, digital skills, computing and business, as well as health and social care.
Advanced level courses available to study remotely online on a part-time basis include accounting (AAT), management (ILM), autism, dementia and mental health.
Sally Denning, director for adult education at NWSLC, said: “We know that many individuals are facing challenging circumstances including redundancy as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and hope that we will be able to offer them a lifeline with a route into a new career.
“The Government is targeting support to those areas of the economy that are forecast to grow and are most heavily impacted by current skills shortages, meaning that job roles are likely to be available.
“Colleges are leading the way to help re-energise the UK economy and NWSLC is in a great position to make links between organisations that need skills and individuals looking for work.
“It is our mission to introduce skilled and workready individuals to employers across the region.”
Help our economy to ‘build back better’ through inclusive recruitment
In a year of unforeseen challenges, there have also been countless stories of businesses and communities supporting each other in ways never seen before. But while organisations have rallied to tackle issues such as food poverty and isolation, disabled people remain one of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. Dr Mark Dale (pictured), principal and CEO of Portland College, which specialises in supporting disabled people, argues the case for a greater emphasis on inclusive recruitment.
Pre-pandemic estimates of the percentage of people with disabilities living in poverty was 50% higher than for people without disabilities.
The lack of employment of opportunities for disabled people who can work is the key factor here. Derbyshire County Council estimates that disabled people are eight-times more likely to be unemployed.
The Government’s own estimates place the disability employment gap at just under 30% – put another way, about half of disabled adults are economically active, compared with 80% for their nondisabled peers.
It wants to halve the gap by 2027 but the only way that is going to happen in sufficient numbers is if we, the employers, recruit more disabled people.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Most employers know it is illegal to discriminate against disabled people. Understandably, some employers are nervous – worried about getting things wrong, the costs involved and, ultimately, the impact on productivity and profit.
At Portland College, we have supported many hundreds of disabled people into employment. They and the businesses they work for are thriving. The benefits are huge: • Access to a wider talent pool of motivated people • Proven higher retention rates • Mirror the diversity of your customers • Enhance your reputation • Positive impact on disabled people
SO JUST WHAT CAN EMPLOYERS DO?
Assess how inclusive your business is already and consider how you can encourage more disabled applicants for your next role. Some 23% of working age adults in the UK are disabled. How closely does the diversity of your workforce match this?
Evaluate how accessible your recruitment processes are and look at simple modifications, such as: • Have two short documents: one for the job description profile and one for the person specification. At Portland, the maximum length for the job description is two pages and the person specification is one page • Keep the number of essential requirements to a minimum; don’t ask for things you don’t actually need • Offer equivalent qualifications and skills or experience if possible.
Don’t be afraid to ask candidates what they need to make the recruitment process more accessible and consider providing a work placement through a supported internship or work experience.
Often, it doesn’t cost any more to employ a person with disabilities, but the Department of Work and Pensions offers the Access to Work scheme, which can pay for any extra costs.
Businesses can also sign up to the Disability Confident Scheme, which tells customers and prospective employees that you are thinking about them. By sharing your success stories, you can help raise awareness and support other businesses to become more accessible.
Help is at hand
In 2017, Portland College launched an innovative programme aimed at supporting disabled people into work. Its triple award-winning Portland Pathways offers a range of free services to help bridge the disability employment gap.
• Recovery college –In partnership with the NHS, these courses give people with mental health difficulties strategies and techniques to support them in the workplace and daily life, meaning mental health should no longer be a barrier for people wanting to find a job. • Preparing for work – A specialist team helps people prepare for work with employability training, interview preparation and support with job searching. • Support for employers – The college can help businesses find the right person for roles, as well as with applications for Access to Work funding and to become a Disability Confident Employer.
For more information about employing people with disabilities or applying for Access to Work funding, contact Portland Pathways on 01623 499193. Businesses can also support young people with disabilities via CSR activities or making Portland College their charity of the year. To discuss how to support the college, call 01623 499100.
RAF partners with Air & Space Training Institute
The Royal Air Force will be an official partner in a new International Air & Space Training Institute (IASTI) in Newark.
Backed by part of the £25m grant that Newark received in the Government’s Towns Fund initiative, construction work is due to start next year on a dedicated £10m campus that will open in 2023 – with courses to be delivered elsewhere from September this year.
IASTI Newark, which will offer pilot, engineering and ground crew courses designed with industry input to fit job roles in the air and space sector, will be the first of a national network.
Midlands Engine chairman Sir John Peace joined other dignitaries including Local Government Secretary and Newark MP Robert Jenrick and RAF Air Marshal Andrew Turner in launching the centre in March.
Gary Headland, CEO of Lincoln College Group, which will run IASTI Newark, said discussions were ongoing with other aviation industry organisations to join the RAF as a partner.
He added: “This ground-breaking new approach to training in the sector will dramatically widen participation, opening up highly skilled, exciting and lucrative careers to people from all backgrounds.”
