Solihull College & University Centre united motor vehicle industry experts at its Woodlands Campus recently for a Train the Trainer session.
Approximately 30 delegates and automotive industry heads attended the session which was part of the Emerging Skills Project. Training was provided on delivery of 3 electric and hybrid vehicle modules by Solihull College & University Centre, Weston College and New College Durham.
Funded by the Department for Education as part of the government’s Skills for Jobs plan, the Emerging Skills Project addresses the future skills gap in manufacturing and the wider engineering workforce.
Alan Downing, Head of School for Motor Vehicle for the College presented his Unit 1 module to the group covering electric and hybrid vehicles and how to teach students to work safely and competently. The sessions allowed for sharing ideas, feedback, collaboration and advice. Attendees were impressed with the voiceover on the unit to assist learners who may need it. They also found the virtual platform useful as it will be shared on the student’s workspace Moodle.
The unit is being piloted currently and students will trial it remotely before returning to College for it to be delivered in person.
After the presentation, attendees were treated to a tour of the College’s bespoke workshops featuring state-of the-art hybrid vehicles. The College has championed the emergence of electric and hybrid technology in recent years as part of its growing commitment to sustainability.
Dr John Lanham, Curriculum Development Lead from the Emerging Skills Project understands the importance of collaboration and preparing learners for the skills needed. He comments: “The Emerging Skills project has been funded by DfE to identify and develop training in emerging technologies. The project partners are the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Enginuity and the Institutes of Technology. The importance of preparing for the emerging skills needed by industry and individuals as the UK recovers from the pandemic is clear; this project with its direct link to future manufacturing technologies is well placed to deliver a valuable contribution. Equally as important, is the strong collaborative approach that is being developed across the partnership to meet this need and to develop sustainable and supportive networks for the future.”
Alan Downing added: “The project is an exciting chance for all colleges to work together, this will bring a standardised approach to delivering a highly technical qualification. As a college we are keen to be involved in any curriculum design as our intent is to have our learners benefit from a new curriculum and learn new skills required in industry.”
Find out more about the College’s Motor Vehicle courses.
