APPENDIX 26
Memorandum submitted by Rob Shanks, Imagineering
Foundation
FUTURE OF THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN THE
UK SKILLS SHORTAGES
I. SUMMARY
1. The future of UK manufacturing depends
on a supply of talented, able motivated people to join the manufacturing
profession so as to ensure that the UK has a developing productive
manufacturing base that is globally competitive. The development
of STEM skills at formative stages in children's education is
important in achieving this.
2. Imagineering Foundation is a charity
focused on the delivering the engineers of the future by exciting
the children from primary school age by hands on fund activity.
This experience of joy and achievement from making things at an
early age is a proven formula for the first step in halting and
later reversing the downwards trend in STEM skills in the UK young
population.
3. Imagineering evolving from individuals
across a range of professional engineering institution, harness
resources from existing industry to help deliver more and better
STEM skills in the future.
4. This paper contains proposals for:
— Excite and engage primary school
children—using Imagineering Clubs run after school.
— Build on a proven low cost formula,
with 10 years experience.
— Extend access to Imagineering Clubs
in primary schools nation-wide.
— Deliver an offer to 20% of all UK
primary schools by 2010, or 4,000 schools;
— 20% coverage has already been achieved
in one county (Worcestershire) and elsewhere if:
— Government contribute modest
funding towards training of volunteers.
— 10 training centres needed with
at a cost of £250k per year.
— Industry expand their release
of staff.
— Children pay £1.50 for each
of 30 sessions in a year, completing 10-12 varied projects.
— The Imagineering Clubs to be run
in conjunction with the Governments Extended School initiative.
— Feed into appropriate Secondary School
initiatives, such as Young Engineers.
II. INCREASING
STEM RESOURCE CONCERNS
IN UK MANUFACTURING
5. Manufacturing has been through major
changes and this has involved downsizing of the industry with
a consequent reduction in the national science & engineering
base.
6. Education at all levels up to and including
Universities has responded to the consequent reduction in demand
for Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) by reducing
the delivery system.
7. Manufacturing is now in need of both
innovation and widespread delivery of the solutions developed
in order to compete in a global economy.
8. Some initiatives are under way, eg MAS
but effort is needed to deliver talented individuals to manufacturing.
9. There is an urgent need to ensure that
18+ initiatives have access to appropriate talent. To achieve
this it is essential to start early, typically the eight to 10
year old group is most effective. Excitement and interest from
this younger age group needs then to be maintained through secondary
schools to deliver the STEM talent into specific training and
specialist education 16+.
10. A limited number of major companies
are already engaged on supporting such initiatives, examples include
National Grid and Ford .
III. PROPOSED
ACTIONS
11. Take a long-term view, with actions
now to secure both the STEM experts and the STEM technicians in
10-20 years time.
12. Imagineering Foundation in conjunction
with Government, Industry and Education deliver an exciting offer
to children towards the end of primary school. Each child have
access to real experience of a wide range of engineering disciplines
through hands on fun in about 10-12 projects, covering typically
30 sessions over one year.
13. Establish and deliver a project aimed
at providing an offer of on Imagineering Club in every primary
school in UK, aiming at 20% cover by 2010 or 4,000 Imagineering
Clubs.
14. The main elements of the delivery side
of the plan:
— Reinforce the existing Imagineering
logistics facility for tools, kits and know-how.
— Decentralise delivery to approximately
10 regional centres each responsible for local:
— Marketing to local companies
to obtain volunteers as tutors.
— Offer of hands-on training of
interested primary school teachers.
— Each regional centre minimum exclusive
resource is a half time trainer/marketing person (equipped and
with transport) and a permanent training room.
— Collaboration with other initiatives
to give a coherent strategy for enhancing STEM skills.
15. Imagineering uses volunteer engineer
tutors, consequently giving a realistic positive experience of
engineering to children.
October 2006
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