22 August 2018
Today the States of Jersey have announced that the department for Growth, Housing & Environment has linked with Jersey College for Girls (JCG) in partnership with UK organisation Primary Engineer to embed engineering into primary and secondary school curriculums.
Primary Engineer brings together industry and education to deliver a world of engineering challenges for young people and communities.
The Primary Engineer and Secondary Engineer programmes will see local teachers and engineers training alongside each other to plan projects and lessons which are mapped to the curriculum, to inspire and educate children, from early years through to secondary level, using real-world examples that bring maths and science to life for hundreds of Jersey school children, from September.
Each school will partner with a linked engineer to engage the students in creative, hands-on lessons that will provide a solid foundation for learning, encouraging broader career aspirations. While not all children will want to be engineers they will acquire the practical problem-solving attitudes that can be applied to any profession.
The States of Jersey Growth, Housing & Environment department will play a leading role in the initiative, and have already hosted the first successful training session last month for secondary teachers and a group of local engineers.
Phil Dodd, the Support Services Manager for Growth, Housing & Environment, will be working directly with students at Jersey College for Girls (JCG) in the Autumn term and commented:
"Whether children realise it or not, in the classroom you begin to develop engineering skills and strategies and this is about capitalising on these natural instincts and taking it one step further to show young people what it means to bring their ideas into reality.
This is still seen as a male dominated industry, with 402 male Chartered Engineers in the UK compared to just 48 female. We'd love to close the gender gap and see more diversity in these sorts of roles, there's certainly the support and demand for it. I am confident this programme is a big step in the right direction for Jersey."
Dave Roworth, Director of Digital, Vocational and Technical Skills at Skills Jersey commented:
"We are delighted that strong partnerships continue to be forged between our schools and experts from industry and businesses, it is crucial for our young people to be inspired and ambitious for their futures, and to see the links between their learning at school, and applications in the real world. So far, over 30 island nurseries, primary and secondary schools are registered with the programme and we're delighted to see such fantastic uptake in our first year. I also wish to express publicly my thanks to the engineers and their companies who are supporting the programme, they will have such a positive impact on the young people they meet and work with next term."
Dr. Susan Scurlock, CEO, Primary Engineer commented:
"The Primary Engineer and Secondary Engineer Programmes have been running for many years. We have proven that by engaging children at a young age we can inspire them and their teachers to tap into innate skills as well as help children meet the curriculum requirements of literacy, vocabulary and communication skills."
gov.je