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TUCOstrengthens Executive Board with new appointment


The University Caterers Organisation (TUCO), the UK’s leading member community for Higher Education in-house caterers, has announced a new addition to its Board, further strengthening the organisation’s experience and value-add to its stakeholders. Gavin Brown, General Manager at the


University of Sheffield, brings a wealth of knowledge, craft and management experience to the role having held a diverse range of positions from General Manager at Derby County football club managing corporate hospitality and sales, Executive Chef at the University of Nottingham to Commercial Manager at the University of Sheffield. Much of Brown’s career – over 25 years – has been developed within the Higher Education sector, of which he comes with a thorough and in depth understanding. Brown – whose heritage with TUCO spans 20 years including winning a


Gold Medal at the annual TUCO Skills Competitions - now aims to focus on how TUCO can help develop and share best practice from its member institutions, drawing on member expertise and the wider industry to look at new and improved ways of working across the sector as a whole. He says: “As an organisation TUCO does tremendous work in its efforts


to promote and develop the Higher Education catering sector and there’s a lot of passion within this thriving community.


I am delighted to have the


opportunity to work within the Board to help make a positive impact on the future and on members directly.” Julie Barker, Chair of TUCO, added: “Gavin has proven himself a valuable


asset to Sheffield in his many roles, taking a forward thinking and innovative approach to his work and displaying a real commitment to driving excellence in the sector as truly aligns him to TUCO. We are delighted to welcome Gavin to the Board where we are sure his passion and vigour will add to and complement the skills that TUCO already enjoys.”


Young adults place less importance on STEM subjects


According to a survey of consumers conducted by YouGov for the IEEE – the world’s largest professional organisation dedicated to advancing technology for humanity - fewer ‘millennials’ (aged 18-34 years) think it’s important to teach STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects at primary and secondary school than do ‘baby boomers’ (aged 51-69 years) despite them growing up in an age shaped by technology. Among US respondents, 7% of the younger age group said they didn’t


consider any of the four core subjects important to teach compared to 3% of the post-war generation. The contrast is even starker among millennial respondents from Great Britain with 4% not valuing the subjects compared to 1% of their older counterparts. The online survey, conducted in late December 2014, questioned over two thousand adults in each country. From the majority that do believe in the importance of the subjects, in both


nations and both age categories, the importance of mathematics was stressed by more than any other subject - in the UK, 82% millennials, 92% baby boomers; in US 75% millennials, 88% baby boomers. Engineering was considered important by the least number of people (in the UK 46% millennials, 51% baby boomers; in US 42% millennials, 46% baby boomers). These results follow a report from Engineering UK that states the UK does


not have either the current capacity or the rate of growth needed to meet the forecast demand for skilled engineers by 2020. The relative importance attached to the teaching of each of the STEM topics


by the two GB and US age groups was: • Engineering: GB (46% millennials, 51% baby boomers); US (42% millennials, 46% baby boomers


• Mathematics: GB (82% millennials, 92% baby boomers); US (75% millennials, 88% baby boomers)


• Science: GB (76% millennials, 79% baby boomers); US (68% millennials, 80% baby boomers)


• Technology: GB (65% millennials, 76% baby boomers); US (60% millennials, 66% baby boomers). IEEE held similar research with MRSSIndia in India. There, 99% of the total


base of over 1,000 adult respondents thought it was important to teach all subjects with science rating highest followed by mathematics then technology, with engineering rated last.


Construction skills centre to be built by Chalcroft


Aimed at providing the construction professionals of the future with a strong foundation of core skills, building work has begun on a £3.75m Construction Skills Centre at the Norfolk campus of Easton & Otley College thanks to support from the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership. Chalcroft, a specialist commercial construction


company, has been appointed as Principal Contractor for the project which is due for completion in the summer – ready for the September 2015 intake of students. The new development builds on the success of Easton & Otley College’s construction facilities at its Suffolk campus and, by 2018, will be able to accommodate 300 learners per year. A one storey steel frame building with exterior cladding and brickwork detailing, the new facility will have 1,476m² of inside space for courses in carpentry and bricklaying as well as electrical and multi- skilled programmes. A further 600m² of covered outdoor areas completes the development. Building with sustainability in mind, the new


structure will feature photovoltaic panels for solar energy generation as well as a biomass boiler, and rain water will be harvested for tool washing. Mark Crisp, Head of Construction at Easton &


Otley College’s Norfolk campus, commented: “We are incredibly excited about this new build


April 2015


which will enable us to work more closely with the construction industry and train the next generation of tradespeople, and we are very happy with our decision to appoint Chalcroft, a highly experienced company which shares our optimism for the future of the construction industry both locally and nationwide. “We have trebled the number


of students we teach in two years and we are aiming to do the same again in the next three years thanks to this new investment. Our aim is to create even stronger industry links in the next few months and years thanks to the creation of our state of the art centre.” Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia


LEP which secured £2.5m for the new centre as part of its growth deal with government, added: “Our regional economy and the UK as a whole is suffering from a major shortage of skilled house builders, from bricklayers and carpenters to


painters and plasterers, and this excellent new training centre will offer new and exciting career opportunities for hundreds of students and apprentices, boosting our skilled workforce while helping to build the homes we need for the future.”


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