Five new UTCs open to boost technical skills post Brexit
Five new University Technical Colleges open to boost technical skills post Brexit
“Employability, Employability, Employability”
Five new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) will open in Hampshire, London, Gloucestershire and Hull in September offering hundreds of places to young people who want a high-quality technical education that prepares them for the modern world. UTCs are employer-backed, state funded technical schools for 14-19 year olds and provide an education designed to meet the skills gap in their regions.
More than 30 employers are backing the new UTCs including BAE Systems, Royal Navy, Transport for London, and Atkins.
Former Secretary of State for Education, Lord Baker, who chairs the Baker Dearing Educational Trust and created UTCs, said:
“University Technical Colleges play a vital role in developing young people for the modern labour market. We started in 2010 – there are now 49 UTCs all over England.
“In the ‘90s Blair called for “Education, Education, Education”, today the call should be “Employability, Employability, Employability”. Focus on employability should start in schools, but too many of them only care about exam pass rates. What really matters is that students are ready for skilled work and, as we approach Brexit, the stakes could not be higher.”
South
UTC Portsmouth will provide a specialist STEM curriculum delivered by experts to meet the growing demands of employers across the region. The UTC will specialise in mechanical and electrical engineering and advanced manufacturing.
Employer partners include:, Royal Navy, BAE Systems, QinetiQ, NATS, dstl, Airbus, Babcock, Land Rover BAR, Carnival UK, Raymarine, Salterns Academy Trust and Portsmouth City Council. The University of Portsmouth is also a partner in the UTC.
The unique education offered in a modern learning environment has an exceptional enrichment programme focussed upon employability skills. This includes activities such as Autodesk Inventor, leadership training, engineering challenges, and Combined Cadet Force.
Students will leave UTC Portsmouth having developed and mastered the following key skills: resilience, creative problem solving, teamwork, responsibility, communication skills and curiosity. They will go on to follow STEM courses at university, join one of the UTC’s employer partners as an apprentice in engineering or advanced manufacture, or go straight in to work.
London
Sir Simon Milton Westminster University Technical College
Sir Simon Milton Westminster University Technical College specialises in transport and construction engineering and the built environment. The UTC was co-founded by The University of Westminster and the Sir Simon Milton Foundation. The Foundation was set up in memory of Sir Simon Milton, London’s visionary public service leader at Westminster City Council and the Greater London Authority.
Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC aims to inspire high achievers and develop the next generation of engineers, designers and project managers to deliver major 21st century infrastructure projects in London, the UK and beyond.
The UTC will offer students a much wider perspective on education and the world of work, with many more varied challenges than a typical school or college may provide. The driving force behind the UTC is the collaboration between the Sir Simon Milton Foundation, a unique Employers’ Alliance and the University of Westminster. The Employers’ Alliance delivers work experience through business challenge projects to accompany a tailor-made curriculum that supports the UTC’s focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. One such exciting opportunity is the pioneering Design, Engineer, Construct! qualification, for which students will work with leading building management solutions group, SCS.
Students joining the UTC will have access to projects rooted in industry, created by the Employers’ Alliance. The Employers’ Alliance includes: Network Rail, Landsec, Sir Robert McAlpine, Alstom, Colas Rail, BT Fleet and Transport for London.
Sir Simon Milton Westminster UTC students will also receive mentoring from students at the University of Westminster, helping them to enhance their critical thinking and problem solving skills. This will further support the UTC’s key aim to provide all of its students with high quality information, advice and guidance to support their next step into higher education, apprenticeship or employment.
Mulberry UTC specialises in health industries (Health Care and Health Science) and creative industries (Creative Digital Media and Performing & Production Arts). Located in Tower Hamlets, its employer partners include Barts Health Trust, National Theatre, British Film Institute, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldsmith University, London Ambulance Service, and Founders and Coders. Goldsmiths University of London is also supporting the UTC.
Mulberry UTC is designed to give students the skills and qualifications they need to succeed in their future careers. It offers a specially tailored curriculum which combines academic and technical qualifications; a focus on project-based learning; state of the art facilities; extra-curricular and enrichment activities; and support from local employers and universities.
Students coming to Mulberry UTC will have access to some amazing, state of the art facilities. Charcoalblue, designers of the Dorfman at the National Theatre, has designed the UTC’s professional standard theatre. Specially created health care rooms will allow students to learn in medical and home care environments.
Through the UTC’s sponsors, students will be supported by some of the most prestigious names in arts, media and health in the country, if not the world. By being part of the Mulberry Schools Trust, Mulberry UTC benefits from the expertise and support of Mulberry School for Girls, an outstanding school in Tower Hamlets dedicated to confidence, creativity, leadership, and learning.
South West
SGS Berkeley Green (Gloucestershire)
SGS Berkeley Green UTC specialises in digital technology, advanced manufacturing and cyber security. The UTC has industry standard engineering workshops and IT facilities including a security operations centre for the teaching of cyber security.
Partnerships with local and national employers ensure students make the connection between what they learn in the classroom and how it relates in the real world. Employer partners include: Fujitsu, Kier, GE Aviation, Versarian, Allcooper, Omega Engineering Services, Gaia, Babcock MSS, Contextis, Atkins, BAE Systems, LB Bentley, Horizon, NBN. The University of Gloucestershire is also a partner in the UTC.
Graduates will have skills that will be transferable to all areas in the engineering and digital sectors. Students will go on to work at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing and cyber security.
Yorkshire & Humber
Ron Dearing UTC (Hull)
Ron Dearing UTC specialises in digital technology and mechatronics, skills which are in high demand by local industry. It is backed by leading employers from the local area including KCOM, Siemens Gamesa, RB, Smith &Nephew and Spencer Group.
The highly engaged founding partners have worked closely with the Principal and teaching team to design the school, its facilities and the curriculum. The purpose-built £10m building will have state-of-the-art facilities and technology to match those in major companies, including dedicated zones for digital technology, design, project development and testing.
Students coming to Ron Dearing UTC will work on real-world projects designed by the UTC’s Founding Partners and study towards professional qualifications identified by the employers as those most in demand by industry, enabling them to get the edge over others in the competition for jobs.
On successful completion of studies, UTC students will be offered a guaranteed interview with the Founding Partners or a conditional offer from the University of Hull.
ENDS
About Baker Dearing Educational Trust
Baker Dearing Educational Trust (Baker Dearing) was founded by Lord Baker and Lord Dearing to promote the concept of University Technical Colleges (UTCs). Baker Dearing sits at the centre of the UTC network and promotes and supports new and existing UTCs.
Baker Dearing is funded by a number of major sponsors: the Edge Foundation, the Department for Education, Garfield Weston Foundation, Peter Cundill Foundation, Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Michael Bishop Foundation.
About University Technical Colleges
The UK needs more advanced technical skills at all levels. We need a workforce that can develop new products, stretch and reuse existing resources and fulfil the needs of 21st century industry. The Royal Academy of Engineering estimates that by 2020 we will need to find more than a million more scientists, engineers and technicians[1].
UTCs are non-selective technical secondary schools for 14-19 year olds and there are 49 across the country.
UTCs offer a broad curriculum that combines an academic education with technical and practical learning. Each UTC uses the latest equipment and technology to provide a learning environment that reflects the workplace.
UTCs are set up where employers and the local university identify that there are pronounced skills gaps. UTCs teach one or more technical specialisms that meet the skills shortages in the region. These include: engineering; manufacturing; computer science; health sciences; product design; digital technologies; and the built environment.
The local university and employers that back the UTC control the Board of Governors.
More than 500 employers support UTCs including Rolls-Royce, Siemens, Network Rail, Jaguar Land Rover and Microsoft, as well as scores of small and medium sized businesses. Together with nearly 50 universities they contribute their knowledge as well as offering opportunities to experience the world of work.
Last year (2016) the vast majority of students leaving UTCs at 18 stayed in education, started an apprenticeship or started a job. Destinations included 44% who went to university and 29% who started apprenticeships. Only 5 students were NEET.
More information about UTCs: www.utcolleges.org
[1] The Universe of Engineering- A call to action, Report published by The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2014
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