EDUCATIONWORKSHOP SUPPLEMENT


MODERNWORKSHOPS SHOULD NOTDETER STUDENTS FROM OPTING FOR STEMCAREERS


ONCEUPONATIME, many years ago, I had the unalloyed joy ofworking for awide variety of industrial companies in theMidlands and the North. Born in Coventry, a


stonesthrowfromwhere the Whitley bomberwas conceived inWorldWar 2, amongstmy earliest childhoodmemories are of streams of roundbacked StandardVangard cars being driven out of the town with thewords EXPORT ONLY emblazoned on the windscreen. Thiswas 1946


and theUKwas bankrupt like today and needed to earn its way in theworld. TheUSAwanted itsmoney back for all those oldwartime frigates and cruisers. In those days the citywas a


centre for the toolmaking industry and therewere a number of car factories. Peopleweremainly employedmaking things. So itwas not a shock tome


to find the conditions of the workshops in placeswhich could then still lay claimto the title of being part of the workshop of theworld. Invariably, theworkshops were dark, dirty, oily and


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noisy and safety appeared not to be paramount. I recall being in a forgewhen someone putwet scrap metal in the huge forge pot, creating an explosion and I beat theman next tome to the exit; the tractor factory, wheremenwith pneumatic drills (therewere no robots in those days)workedwith swinging heavy transmission cases amatter of inches from


by editor Bernard Hubbard


their heads; the steelworks in Sheffieldwheremen clad in large boots were busy at workwithmolten ingots almost overhead, dropping sizzlingmoltenmetal onto the sawdust floor; and the factory in Trafford Park, Manchesterwheremenwith no ear protectionworked all day atmassive presseswhich made the factory floor tremblewith every blowof the press. Workshops today are quiet,


clean,well-lit,well-organised placeswhere safety is a top consideration.Machines are controlled by IT and are making objectswhich have been designed on computers and not in drawing offices. However, people still


believe Britishmanufacturing is stuck in the dark ages. This is certainly not the case. Unfortunately, images are


difficult to shift from people’sminds and that is possiblywhy several generations of children may have turned their backs on STEMsubjects at school


and not opted for a career designing andmaking things. With youth unemployment


at record levels, firms cannot hire sufficient engineers and technicians to expand, so whatever happens to design and technology and its statutory status in the coming reforms of the national curriculum, there is a crying need for children to take STEM subjects at schools. And design and technology is a vital subject in putting them on this road.Mr Gove, if there was ever a time for havingD&T as a statutory subject it is now. There is some light at the


end of this tunnel. There are university technology colleges being created and new academies are being formed, specialising in subjects that require technical andmodern equipment, for example engineering, product design, construction and land and environmental services. Firms such as Excel,HME,


IPM, RK International, Technology Supplies, TechSoft andWarco are creating brand newworkshops for education and refurbishing old ones. Sadly, for some a significant amount of their business of late is coming fromoverseas. Good for reducing our trade gap, but offering concerns about theUK economy in the long term.


In this issue,Technology


in Education takes a look a fewof the organisations thatwill design, fit and maintain your education and trainingworkshops.


CircleNo.E11 1 Check out ourwebsite:www.technology-in-education.co.uk


TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE IN


CircleNo.14


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