Barnsley College’s Engineering and Construction students get inspired

Throughout the week, over 20 virtual sessions took place where students had the opportunity to listen to professionals from local and national businesses within the C-STEM industry allowing students to explore the variety of exciting careers available to them after finishing their studies.

Phil Hornby, Founder and Director of Scale Business Performance, kicked off the week with his inspirational talk about how he was one of the ‘Two Yorkshire lads’ behind the McLaren MP4 12C and developed the electrical systems for the sports car that he had the chance to drive around the BBC Top Gear racetrack. Phil talked about his engineering journey from Yorkshire to a successful business owner who has worked with big global firms such as Bentley, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz and Ford.

Staff from Berneslai Homes, who manage 18,500 homes on behalf of Barnsley Council, talked to students about the variety of careers available within their organisation. Students heard from the Training and Development team, Operations Manager, a plasterer, and a joiner who explained how all the different job roles work together to ensure all their houses are maintained and managed effectively.

Engineering within the marine industry was the talk led by Blue Davies, Head of Training at British Marine; Tom Bettle, Managing Director of Rafner UK Ltd.; and Andrew Tate, Head of In-Service Support at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

They talked about the huge range of exciting careers paths available within the industry, including boat, ship and luxury yacht architects and designers, marine engineers, project managers, marina engineers, procurement specialists and the opportunities available for engineers at sea. They provided practical tips and advice on how students can obtain a career in the marine industry and how to seek out opportunities closer to home in the north of the UK.

Andrew explained how the RNLI use in-house marine engineers and architects to design and build their boats and how civil engineers build their lifeboat stations. Using the Padstow Lifeboat Station rebuild as an example, he explained how engineers had the interesting project of building the new station whilst keeping the old one operational on the same site.

Four inspirational women from the Stemettes, an award-winning social enterprise working to inspire and support young women into STEM, spoke about their careers so far and what they hope to achieve next. Some of their work has included analysing data on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Warship programme, working with chinook helicopters and using 3D modelling software to design sustainable buildings.

Former Barnsley Sixth Form College student Jack Miszewski-Wall spoke about how his hard work, determination and volunteering secured him a one-year industry placement with Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains where he designed components for the Mercedes Formula One car engine. He will start working with Mercedes in September as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer racing closer to achieving his dream job as a Formula One Trackside Power Unit Engineer.

The chequered flag went up when the week ended with an interesting session, which was also attended by the College’s Esports students, from Peter Moxon, Research Analyst with Formula One. Peter explained how through his research, sponsors and partners of the sport get the best value for money, spectators and fans are kept engaged and the importance of the growing digital aspect of Formula One and how Esports and digital technologies are attracting younger and new fans to the sport.

Throughout the week, students also heard from Buildbase, Premdor, Willmott Dixon, Bond Bryan Architects, Creative Minds, Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd., Corrosion Resistant and Exawatt.

Jess Widdowson, Enterprise Team Leader at the College, said: “We had a busy week with lots of inspirational guests. It was a great way for students to learn about the huge variety of interesting and exciting careers available within the C-STEM industry and break the stereotype of the traditional roles that are associated with the sector. I hope it inspired students to make an informed decision about their future careers.

“The College continues to transform lives and help students to fulfil their full potential by providing them with an outstanding experience and I would like to thank all the guest speakers for taking the time to speak to our students.”