From 11th to 14th April, one hundred students gathered at the University of Nottingham to attend a specially designed Railway Engineering residential course. Sponsored by the National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE) and The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (The LRET), this course forms part of a major initiative to encourage young people to consider railway engineering as a possible career in the future. Cutting across many disciplines, the course explored the design, construction and operation of railways and gives a valuable insight into what our future railways could look like.
Over the four days, the pupils had the opportunity to learn about railway engineering through a series of presentations and practical exercises. Working in teams, they tackled ‘real-life’ challenges on projects designed and facilitated by young engineers from industry. These organisations included Babcock Rail, FirstGroup plc, National Express, Network Rail and Transport for London. Projects included designing and building a train for towing materials, a railway track complete with bends, hills and tunnels and a signalling system.
As well as working on the design, build and test elements of the projects, they developed life skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, time management, finance and presentation.
Michael Franklin, Director of The LRET commented:
“The LRET is expanding its long-term relationship with The Smallpeice Trust by funding railway engineering Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Days and a residential course. With the UK’s ageing rail infrastructure and new networks being planned, there are vast and exciting opportunities in railway engineering and we want to encourage and inspire young people to take up careers in this fast moving sector.”
Gil Howarth, Chief Executive of NSARE added: “If the Railway Engineering industry is to attract the quantity and quality of young people required for the future, it is imperative that we raise awareness of the opportunities within Railway Engineering. We are delighted to be working with The Smallpeice Trust and The LRET and to raise awareness of the exciting career opportunities Railway Engineering can offer young people.”
Dr Andrew Cave, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust added, “We are grateful for the support from NSARE and The LRET on this programme. Rail is one of the greenest ways of getting from one place to another and significant amounts of investments are being injected into our railway infrastructure. It is only through practical engineering activities like this that young people will be encouraged to enter the profession and equipped to meet the social, environmental and economic challenges of the future.”
These activities spark an interest in engineering and science, igniting a genuine desire for many to consider careers in these fields. This is particularly encouraging amongst those who have traditionally had limited or no history of engagement with this type of activity. The LRET and NSARE are also sponsoring an advanced Railway Systems Engineering course for 15 to 17 year olds in the summer which will take place at the University of Birmingham.
Founded by Dr Cosby Smallpeice in 1966, The Trust has grown tremendously over the past 45 years, helping thousands of young people find a successful career in a multitude of disciplines within the industry from engineering materials, marine technology and naval architecture to nanotechnology, nuclear enginering, and structural engineering. For further information about The Smallpeice Trust visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk. To find out more about NSARE please visit www.NSARE.org.
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About The Smallpeice Trust:
The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.
The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966 by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”
The Trust is now governed by an eminent board of non-executive trustees and members from a diverse range of engineering, industry, educational and professional bodies.
In 2009/10, The Smallpeice Trust ran 30 residential courses for 1,700 school-aged students at universities across the country, with girls accounting for 38%. In addition, 15,977 students attended a Smallpeice in-school STEM masterclass.
A strong interface is maintained with industry, education and professional bodies that help to support, promote and develop the courses. For more information about The Smallpeice Trust and the training they provide, please visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
The Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (The LRET):
The LRET is an independent charity that was established in 2004. Its principal purpose is to support advances in transportation, science, engineering and technology education, training and research worldwide for the benefit of all. It also funds work that enhances the safety of life and property at sea, on land and in the air. The LRET has supported The Smallpeice Trust for many years funding two Maritime Technology residential courses each year, which continue to attract large numbers of young people.
The National Skills Academy for Railway Engineering (NSARE)
NSARE has been established by industry employers to meet the growing demand, both in terms of quality and quantity, for railway engineering skills across the UK.
Its vision is that by 2015 the engineering workforce will have the necessary skills to support the maintenance, development and expansion of a first-class, cost-effective 21st Century railway with every member of the engineering workforce in the railway industry having demonstrable competencies, This will be achieved by working with employers, education and training providers and wider stakeholders to understand the gaps in quantity and quality of railway engineering skills and develop effective sustainable solutions to address these gaps.
Contacts:
Gemma Murphy
Head of Marketing and Development
Tel: 01926 333214
Fax: 01926 333202
Email: [email protected]
Claire Fisher
Marketing Support Officer
Tel: 01926 333203
Fax: 01926 333202
Email: [email protected]
The Smallpeice Trust is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England.
Company number 00882371.
Registered office: Holly House, 74 Upper Holly Walk, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 4JL. Registered Charity number 313719.
