Dr Anil Kumar

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State of engineering in FE

• Dr Anil Kumar
• Director - Education and Policy
• The Engineering and Technology Board
• NFEC Conference
• Crowne Plaza Hotel Reading
• 7th December 2007

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• The Engineering and Technology Board (ETB), is an
  independent organisation that promotes the
  essential role of science, engineering and
  technology in society. The ETB partners business
  and industry, Government and the wider STEM
  community producing evidence on the state of
  engineering sharing knowledge within
  engineering, and inspiring young people to choose
  a career in engineering, matching employers
  demand for skills.

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Why Further Education Sector?

• Huge numbers of learners
• Key for vocational revolution
• Technicians for the future
• Finally being recognised by Government funding
  streams
• Strategic line for ETB promotion of skills
• Anecdote to Evidence based Action

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Aims and Objectives

• Examine the state of Engineering, Manufacturing
  and Technology (EMT) in FE
• Identify the most serious challenges being faced.
• Look at the most effective solutions

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Methodology

• Secondary data collation analysis
• Interrogating LSC and DfES data
• Primary research
• a survey of providers (colleges)
• a small selection of face-to-face provider case
  studies

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1 - Secondary Analysis

• Key Findings
• Learner Numbers in EMT are falling
• EMT success rates lag behind the national averages

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Learner Numbers
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Success Rates

• In 2003/04
• EMT success rate was 62
• National Average success rate was 71

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Contributing factors to low success rate

• Length of learning aim
• EMT has more longer learning aims. Overall
  success rates for longer aims is lower
• Socio economic factors
• Age
• Gender

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Socio Economic Factors

• Age
• EMT has
• a higher proportion of under 16 learners (5
  against 1)
• Roughly double the proportion of 16-19 learners
  (30)
• Success rates among 19 learners are higher than
  for the younger cohort

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Gender

• EMT courses are heavily male dominated (86 in
  2004)
• Research has shown success rates for female
  students to be higher

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2 - Primary Research

• Survey
• 78 colleges
• 32 response rate
• 2 Case Studies
• Top performing colleges-best practise

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The Biggest Issues

• Finance
• Staff Recruitment
• Employer Engagement
• Perceived demise in domestic Engineering

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Finance

• Issues included
• trouble generating enough income to make certain
  courses viable
• low levels of funding
• poor pay for teaching staff
• the cost of updating equipment to keep up with
  technical and industry change

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Staff Recruitment

• Almost two thirds of respondents feel recruitment
  more difficult in EMT
• Linked to issue of poor pay
• Both successful colleges had low staff turnover

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• Employer engagement
• Difficulties forging successful links
• Both high performing colleges had successful
  industry links
• Perceived demise in domestic engineering
• A quarter of respondents felt this an issue

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Recommendations

• Colleges to review engineering provision
  portfolio
• Improve links with 14-16 year olds
• Increase teaching support in mathematics
• Recruit experienced engineers into FE sector

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So what are we doing?
Best way to predict the future is to invent it

• Increase level 3 student memberships as the
  pathway to Eng Tech registrations NFEC
  inspired by engineering www.InspiredByEngineering.
  com
• ETB national engineering promotional campaign
  single messages 11 -30
• ETB/ LSDA NI/ LSC lecturers into industry pilot
• Careers www.scenta.co.uk and www.enginuity.co.uk
  and Role Models (c.900) database
• Technicians research and stakeholder seminar
• Electronic personal development system