Empowering Future Engineers: The Role of Technology

James Thomson, Curriculum Manager, Engineering and Digital Technologies, The Sheffield College.

James Thomson, Curriculum Manager, Engineering and Digital Technologies, The Sheffield College.

Technology is transforming the engineering profession, and Sheffield College is at the forefront of this transformation. The college is using a variety of technologies, including cloud-based tools, robotics, and artificial intelligence, to improve its engineering programs and prepare students for the future of the industry.

Sheffield is known worldwide for a number of things. It is the birthplace of crucible stainless steel and football. The rise of stainless steel making in the city led to the formation of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2024. Today, it is home to over half a million people and is one of the largest cities in England being well served by rail and road.

The steel industry has had to adapt to huge changes in the workforce with tens of thousands losing their jobs as traditional methods of production declined in the 1980’s including my father who was working as an Electrical Engineer at a company called Firth Brown, now Sheffield Forgemasters which is owned by the MOD and specializes in Steel Casting and Forging for defence, engineering, nuclear, offshore, petrochemical and steel processing industries worldwide

Sheffield College has always had a good reputation as a large Further Education College in the UK. It grew out of the splintered tertiary college network in the city, encompassing six local colleges in 1992. It caters to around 13,000 learners in the region, is supported by around 1,300 staff, and works with 1,700 employers.

A study by EngineeringUK estimates that the UK has up to a 57,000 shortfall of Engineers and Technicians with level 3 skills and above so there is a huge demand for these skills. Engineering at Sheffield College has consistently grown each year whilst other areas have seen peaks and troughs. The study also found that just over half of young people considered a career in Engineering, whilst only a quarter of them actually knew what Engineers do. There is also a large gender gap of around 25% between Males and Females considering Engineering as a career. The average salary for an Engineer in the UK is around £38k with salaries rising to £58k. One issue is the image of Engineering. Quite often it is seen as working in poor conditions as would have been the case in Sheffield up to the 1980’s. Whilst some of that still exists, there is now due to the increase in technology in the sector a much cleaner working environment.

“The pandemic had a major impact on driving technology into traditional Engineering delivery with large IT investments that have resulted in more classrooms with computers.”

Traditional Engineering delivery in Schools and Colleges has often mirrored the workplace with scaled-down workshops filled with machines. These have often been expensive to buy, run, and maintain and so the uptake of Schools offering Engineering as a subject is low. They do however support the wrap-around skills of Maths and Science including Computing that are key to modern Engineering.

The transformation of the FE landscape including the rise of Apprenticeships and more recently, T-Levels in the UK has changed the way we think about and deliver our programmes. The pandemic had a major impact on driving technology into traditional Engineering delivery with large IT investments that have resulted in more classrooms with computers. Staff are also post-pandemic demanding more access to IT as delivery and assessment have moved into the digital age. Sheffield College attained the status of Google Education Reference College in 2021 which has expanded learning into the cloud, always available at home and at College. This has greatly improved transparency for staff and managers, as we are able to see learner progress in real-time, which has improved timely achievement.

The increase in IT infrastructure is very welcome in Engineering. Learners can work on written assignments anywhere but can easily upload images and videos of practical work through the accompanying Google Classroom mobile app. There is a danger that traditional delivery could easily be overtaken by lectures and assignment-based workshops as this is often the easier option, swapping multiple-choice quizzes for hands-on experience with a specialist kit.

We have however been fortunate enough to receive huge funds via a combination of bids and a T-Level investment fund to improve and expand our facilities including the purchase of a lot of technological equipment. This has ranged from increasing the workshop capacity with traditional machines to new CNC lathes and milling machines. We are one of the few colleges to embrace Robotics and Automation in this area with one of our new CNC Lathes being served by an industry-standard Fanuc robot arm. We are also embracing Industry 4.0 by gaining mechatronics, robotics, electro-pneumatics, and hydraulic equipment. We are looking to the future with smart grid systems delivering essential training on technologies such as solar and wind power. Our Automotive area is expanding to put EV and higher-level diagnostics at the forefront of the student experience. We are ensuring that we have technological solutions for each area of engineering to suit our large workshop areas and also each classroom with the smaller-scale specialist kit to augment all manners of delivery. One further rise in technology is the use of Artificial Intelligence, which brings huge opportunities but we must ensure we understand the best way to utilise this free resource.

With this huge investment also comes the problem of retraining staff. Engineering lecturers are difficult to come by and tend to have a wealth of experience but are often at a more advanced stage in their careers. We are developing in-house training in every aspect of technology from basic use of IT to training and case studies in the use of the high-tech kit. We are also developing our teaching methods and using technology to provide students with personalised feedback and support.

Technology is playing an increasingly important role in engineering education. Sheffield College is at the forefront of this transformation, and its experience can provide valuable lessons for other colleges and universities around the world. By investing in technology and providing training for staff, Sheffield College is preparing its students for the future of the engineering profession.