I’ve always been interested in engineering; it helped that my father was a control engineer by trade. I entered the industry at 18 after A-levels when Sellafield Ltd launched its technical specialist training scheme. It brought school leavers straight into technical roles on a part-time degree (one day a week) over five years. I gained a place in the scheme’s first cohort in 2007, working for Sellafield as a technical support engineer. I was looking at legacy fuel; my area was storage ponds, and I was accountable for how it was stored, what condition it was in, inspections, the movement of fuels and so on.
It was a fantastic job and I felt I was playing a real part in helping solve the UK’s legacy issues but after about eight years I had a rethink and felt I wanted to pass on my skills to others. I was now a graduate, had achieved my incorporated engineer status with the Society of Operations Engineers, and that December my house in Carlisle was badly flooded and needed stripping out - if I was to make a change, now was a good time. I moved to a local education provider for 15 months, working as a higher apprenticeship training adviser for level 6 degree students in nuclear engineering. My job was to check students’ progress, liaise with their employers, and undertake coaching and mentoring. In 2017, I left to join a new team at Lakes College as a nuclear engineering lecturer. The institution had just become a founding member of the National College for Nuclear (NCfN) that now comprises several partner FE colleges across the UK; Lakes College houses the NCfN’s new northern hub building on its site to supply degree programmes.
I’m just a few weeks into my new role as curriculum leader/department head, overseeing courses across levels 3-6 for around 180 students each year, most of whom are at level 5 or 6. Sellafield does not have a working nuclear plant; legacy management is now the site’s main priority as reflected in our courses, which focus on decommissioning, waste management and legacy issues, as well as the supporting functions of mechanical, electrical and civil engineering.
Liaising with local employers, I’m responsible for aiding the development of fresh curriculum material and new degree pathways including writing new degree programmes from scratch. We offer foundation degrees ranging from electrical and civil engineering, decommissioning and waste management through to applied chemistry; followed by honours degree top-ups (electrical, mech, civil, decommissioning and waste management). For example, one pathway is a foundation degree in decommissioning, followed by a bachelor’s top-up degree in decommissioning and waste management, covering how to process material when decommissioning, what you can do with material, and whether you can treat it to reduce radioactivity and contamination levels and then recycle and use it elsewhere. Our level 3 qualifications prepare young people for later more advanced study plus we run level 4 and 5 HNC and HND courses in electrical and mechanical engineering.
Most learners across all courses are apprentices, with a few other students paying tuition fees via the student loan scheme. Learners on degree programmes range in age from 18 to 50+. We are also just starting a supply chain of school leavers after A-levels, with local employers keen to boost numbers by pushing through young apprentices.
A lecturer can expect busy weeks and full timetables. Sessions last from 9-11am and 11-1pm with a break in between, resuming after lunch from 2-5pm and often turning into three-hour practical sessions. A full-time lecturer is contracted for some 600 hours’ teaching a year at around 24 hours’ lecturing each week.
(Lecturing took up much of my previous job role though now as a manager I only do six hours a week. But it still gives me vital contact time with students to share my knowledge and industry experience and deliver my own specialisms.)
Level 6 (degree) apprentices come in for one full week on block release every month. It’s therefore easy to arrange a full-day, practical session if needed. Other students on weekly, day release civil engineering degree and higher national programmes have less flexibility in timetables but can still get in practical sessions up to two hours when needed. Unlike a traditional university where students attend lectures en masse, we split learners into smaller groups to get to know them better and find out how they prefer to learn. Meanwhile, level 3 (age 16+) students attend college three days a week for a full year. They follow a generic engineering syllabus with an extra module of nuclear studies covering the industry, basics of nuclear power and how a reactor works; this supports them in applying for a Sellafield or supply company apprenticeship.
When teaching my specialism - decommissioning strategies - I recently used my Sellafield experience to create a new nuclear plant from scratch complete with schematics, operation plans and actual case studies (though for security reasons no specifics). I talked through challenges we faced doing particular types of work …with nuclear safety our main priority. I split learners into two small groups and made them responsible for the decommissioning strategy of that plant (eg key stages, safety, site reduction, robotics, etc). I really enjoyed delivering that module despite a sea of blank faces when I gave students their task!
Each group submitted a group plan and each individual a personal decommissioning plan about how they would do it individually. It was amazing to see the many ideas they used to produce a strategy. I’d drop in a few ‘grenades’ every so often when they had time to think they’d solved the problem. ‘Are you sure about that?’ I’d ask and they’d suddenly scratch their heads and say ‘Well, that’s just scrapped an hour’s work!’ Learning how to react to the ‘bombs’ helped them develop numerous soft skills and learn to think laterally.
Setting students projects that simulate the challenges Sellafield faces. Just like working on real life projects, students will receive a constant flow of new online information which forces them to adapt their strategies. It’s all about preparing them for the workplace or for new roles - but they can’t do that effectively without being on top of new procedures in areas such as welding, woodwork and new machinery. They get a lot out of it.
Working in project groups and adapting strategies affected by my ‘bombs’ and guidance. One day a student came up to me laughing to say someone had actually dropped a bomb at a project meeting at his workplace, then left the room and left them to pick up the pieces!
Keeping everything fresh, up to date and innovative, particularly on level 6 degree-level courses - the curriculum has to reflect constant advances in engineering. The hardest part is setting aside time to reflect on the industry’s progress, attend relevant seminars, conferences, webinars and go through new literature.
Being awarded a technical teacher’s fellowship from the Society of Education and Training last year for my work on an Association of Colleges’ OTLA (outstanding teaching, learning and assessment) national project to develop and deliver a new pedagogy for curriculum delivery.
Resilience - things can change rapidly in this environment, eg change of government, change of focus for the FE sector, etc. Embracing change as an opportunity and not a barrier - what can you get out of the department’s offer. Ingenuity and an ability to think outside the box - don’t fear doing things differently (eg. dropping bombs, delivering modules in a case study format, and underpinning the hard curriculum with the soft skills they must have when they enter the industry).
Wide-ranging industrial experience plus a relevant engineering degree (eg. BSc degree in nuclear plant and plant operation processes); and a PGCE or equivalent teacher training qualification.
How will you use your industrial experience and knowledge (95% engineering and 5% nuclear) in class?
It’s seeing initially hesitant level 3 students go up confidently to receive their certificate/diploma/degree qualification that their hard work deserves plus the privilege of overseeing other people’s continuing professional development to ensure they have the same opportunities I had.
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