Industrial change in the north east region and the implications for further education departments of electrical and electronic engineering

Abstract

The research study examines a number of recent developments in the electrical/electronics industry in terms of new skill requirements of the workforce and in-service training provision for both employees in industry and teaching staff in the providing colleges of further education in the North East Region. Many of the major changes which are taking place in the Region's industries are due mainly to the introduction or planned introduction of new microelectronic/computerised technology. Therefore, it is imperative that the relevant manpower planning which takes place in industry is supported by recent and relevant further education and training of its employees so that an adequate supply of sufficiently-skilled personnel is made available in order that companies can take advantage of high technology in their manufacturing processes. Data was collected, using structured interview questionnaires, from samples of managers employed in local industry and teachers in further education departments of electrical/electronic engineering. The results were later analysed using computer standard non-parametric statistics. Much of the data obtained from the survey shows that, although further training and retraining of staff was often necessary with the introduction of new computerised equipment into a company, very little reliance was actually placed on further education. Many of the in- service training needs were provided by equipment manufacturers, external agencies, and in-company programmes. Staff development in a number of the sampled colleges did no always place sufficient emphasis on regular retraining/updating of the teachers' subject area. Therefore, as a consequence, many FE teachers had not attended any recent subject-specific in-service training courses and often had to rely on text-books and other sources for information on new subject and curricular developments. Although most of the sampled managers were aware of the lack of close liaison between their industry and colleges of further education, many recognised the need to further their own involvement in local education and contribute to the content and organisation of college course curricula. In education, a disproportionately large percentage of those teachers interviewed had little or no contact with local firms, even at a superficial level of involvement e.g. an industrial visit, and many had never consulted with industry nor discussed any issues involving the courses offered by their department. The absence of any structured links between the two samples has inevitably helped to exacerbate many existing problems, and in a number of cases has, unfortunately, resulted in a complete lack of co-operation and co-ordination in terms of course planning and design.