A brief guide to UTCs l ET(ME) Edward Dean
It’s all about Team ME
TWO Royal Navy Marine Engineers combined know-how and ingenuity to take the prize in an apprentice challenge at their training establishment. ET(ME)s Edward Dean and Ross Lancaster were part of Team ME, which competed against four other Service and industry teams in the Apprentice category of Operation Antarctica 2016 (see main story, right). The team created a craft that negotiated foam ice floes in a tank (the ‘Weddell Sea’), watched by Lego penguins as well as other competitors. Edward, who like Ross joined the Royal Navy last year, worked in the finance department of a large water company on the South Coast when he left school, in what he describes as a “nineto-five job – the same day in, day out.” He said: “I wanted some variation and a job where you expect the unexpected, when anything can happen – I enjoy that challenge.” Edward’s brother was in the Navy as an air engineer, and encouraged Edward to think of a career in the Service. Edward, from Worthing, said: “I found the engineering training hard at first because it wasn’t something I had done before, but the instructors are really good and very helpful. “In my future career, I want as much sea time as possible. One of the things that really appealed to me about the Navy was humanitarian aid. It’s something the Navy does really well and I would like to be a part of it. “The training opens doors – if you stay in, you get the chance to progress in your career and move on, and if you want to go outside, you’ve got qualifications which make you really employable.” Ross, 19, from Newcastle, said: “I saw the Royal Navy as one of the quickest ways to get a very highly-qualified job and a high level of responsibility at a young age.” He added: “The training they give you has to be a very high standard, because if you’re serving in a ship or submarine miles from anywhere you need to be competent and know what you’re doing. It’s quite a responsibility. “And when you leave, those skills are really looked up to in the outside world.” Ross has already completed some training in submarine diesel and water purification systems. His next ambition is to get his nuclear qualification and become a leading hand.
l ET(ME) Ross Lancaster 14 : APRIL 2016
l Ru Welsman, 15 (left), and Tabi Stonelake, 15, from South Devon UTC’s team Arctic Saviour, remove their craft from the Weddell Pictures: LA(Phot) Dave Jenkins Sea – aka a water tank at HMS Sultan
Engineering success from an icy problem
STUDENTS from across England displayed cool heads when they tackled an icy engineering challenge at HMS Sultan.
Operation Antarctica 2016 was the Royal Navy University Technical College (UTC) Young Engineers Challenge – part of the Royal Navy’s drive to nurture engineering and scientific talent amongst British youngsters (see right). A total of 34 teams took part in the challenge, with some also enjoying a night on board HMS Bristol, the harbour training ship permanently berthed at Whale Island in Portsmouth Harbour. Themed around the Royal Navy’s role of providing disaster relief, students were asked to design a craft capable of negotiating dangerous ice floes and retrieving lost supplies from a mission zone in the Antarctic. With the event falling on the eve of British Science Week, it was a chance to demonstrate how organisations such as the Royal Navy, UTCs, Young Engineers, Babcock and BAE Systems across the engineering industry are encouraging young people into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. The challenge was hosted in an aircraft hangar normally used by Air Engineer Technicians (AETs) from the Defence College of Technical Training’s Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS). This allowed students, in spare moments, to look at a number of aircraft and enjoy interactive displays around the arena. The young people were also given tours of marine engineering training facilities used by the Defence School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE), including diesel engines and thunderous gas turbines. Within a display of industry apprentices up to the age of 25, RN students from the RNAESS and DSMarE and the Weapons Engineering Training Group HMS Collingwood were put up against teams from RAF Cosford and competition sponsor BAE Systems, with Team ME producing
l Group winners HMS Apologies, of South Wiltshire UTC, during one of the heats – from left, Isobel Beaven, Charlie Greenhow, Dan Bavister and Korban Wigham the most efficient model (see left). Awards were presented by VIPs for most effective harbour clearance; best design and construction; best presentation; most valiant effort and best theme. The top 14-16 team was the UTC Sharks from Energy Coast, Cumbria, while the 16-18 winners were HMS Apologies, from South Wiltshire UTC. UTC Sharks team member Thompson Reed, 15, said: “We have all worked really hard as a team and are really thankful for what we have achieved today, and for the help and time that our teachers have given towards the challenge. “The Navy helped provide us with all of the things required to get the best possible outcome. “It’s been really fun, and a task like this has been really interesting for everybody.” Graeme Jackson, Lead Engineering Subject teacher at Energy Coast, said: “The students have absolutely loved the challenge.” “Initially starting off quite slowly, they built up some designs, with graduates from Sellafield nuclear plant offering
some advice and support. “The students then went away and made some CAD images followed by some prototypes they could test, so they’ve seen designs fail and some really successful models. “There’s quite a lot of pride in seeing all the work that they have put into it and getting something out at the end – it’s been a really nice, successful day.” Among the VIPs in attendance were First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas, Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Jonathan Woodcock and Chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, Lord Baker of Dorking. Admiral Zambellas said: “Engineers from around the UK are designing, building and operating a new generation of ships, aircraft and submarines for the Royal Navy. “These are bristling with world-beating technology, to protect our nation’s interests against the most advanced threats. “As we consider exciting developments in areas such as autonomous systems and artificial intelligence, it is even
more clear that the Royal Navy’s future is bound tightly to Britain’s strength in science, technology and engineering. “The Royal Navy UTC Engineering Challenge is designed to test the technical ability and creativity of young engineers. “By working with schools and colleges to nurture their skills and enthusiasm, we can put more young people on the path towards a highly rewarding career in which they can shape the technical future of the Royal Navy and the nation.” Lord Baker said: “I am delighted that so many students from UTCs across the country are competing here in Operation Antarctica. “The competition offers a wonderful opportunity for students to apply the skills and expertise they learn every day at their UTC. “Our country needs considerably more engineers and we welcome the support that the Royal Navy is giving to the UTC programme in helping to inspire the next generation.”
THE first University Technical College or UTC was established in Staffordshire in 2010 and is sponsored by the well-known construction equipment manufacturer – hence its name, the JCB Academy. It led the way for a new programme of governmentfunded secondary schools, all of which are academies but have additional features which distinguish them from other more traditional academies. Each has a sponsoring university, and they specialise in particular aspects of science and technology, including engineering, manufacturing, product design, digital technology and health sciences. UTCs are designed to address the UK’s need for a workforce with advanced technical skills to develop new products, stretch and reuse existing resources, and meet all the challenges of the future. Students can join in Year 10 or Year 12, and will combine the study of traditional GCSEs and A Levels with specialist technical qualifications. By the end of this year it is hoped some 30,000 students will be able to follow this new technical education pathway, educating the inventors, engineers, scientists and technicians of tomorrow. Each UTC focuses on one or two technical specialisms, working with employers – including the Royal Navy, which is affiliated to six UTCs – and a local university to develop and deliver their curriculum, providing essential academic education and relating this to the technical specialisms. They have the latest equipment and technology used by industry, and dedicate at least 40 per cent of time to the technical specialism, encouraging students to work in teams and solve problems. The links with employers and universities means students leave a UTC with experience of the world of higher education and the workplace. There are now over 40 UTCs in operation, and they are generally smaller than traditional secondary schools, with around 600 students on average. They are not academically selective and charge no fees, and have catchment areas that may extend across a number of local authorities. They cover the length and breadth of England, from Plymouth to Newcastle. A new UTC is due to open in Portsmouth in September next year, and the process of recruiting a principal is under way. Data returns from the UTC indicate that almost a quarter of students who left UTCs at 18 started apprenticeships – three times the national average. They are also outperforming the national average for students going on to university – the figure for traditional schools and colleges is 37 percent, while for UTCs it is 42 per cent. And the students themselves feel that UTCs offer a valuable alternative – almost nine out of ten feel confident in their ability to succeed in work and about the same number are confident of getting a job that suits their skills when they leave education. Four out of five students say that going to their UTC was the right choice, and some 70 per cent feel their prospects are better than if they had stayed in a mainstream school. Almost three quarters of parents of students at UTCs say the establishment has made their child more confident in getting a job, and 85 per cent of parents believe the UTC is preparing their child for the world of work, compared with 68 per cent of parents with children in mainstream schools. www.navynews.co.uk