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The Topic: Skills SKILLS THE TOPIC 8 | 1ST - 7TH APRIL 2016 | UTILITY WEEK W hen we think about the skills and workforce challenges facing the utilities industry, and engineering-based sectors more broadly, the subject group that is never far from anyone's lips is STEM – science, technology, engineering and maths. A recognised shortage in the number of young people engaging with these subjects and going on to study them at higher and further education level is fundamentally linked to current and future problems in recruiting appropriately qualified engineers and technicians. Quite rightly, employers across the sector have mobilised in recent years to address this problem. They have boosted their engagement with schools, clarified the career opportunities attached to STEM subjects and worked with government to support better alignment of skills and education policies and funding with the needs of employers. All of this is positive and it is beginning to turn the tide of opinion among young people, parents and teachers about the attractiveness of STEM subject options. However, I would argue that in the campaign to promote STEM subjects as career-enabling and economi- cally empowering, a crucial school subject is too oen ignored – design and technology (D&T). D&T has been a national curriculum subject for over 25 years, ever since the national curriculum came into being. Over that time, it has evolved from being a subject that taught basic cra skills, to one which supports children in the application of principles they learn about H ealth and safety can sometimes be viewed as a punchline to a joke for those outside our industries – shorthand for extreme or pointless bureaucracy. But eve- ryone working in utilities today recognises its vital importance. Our industries are complicated and oen dangerous; technical roles take years to learn and decades to perfect. The need to keep our colleagues and customers safe is constant, and we must ensure we're supporting our staff every step of the way. The key is in training the right people, to the highest standards. Energy & Utility Skills (EU Skills) helps employers attract new talent, develop their workforces and assure a high level of competence across their business. The employers we work with have an opportunity to revolu- tionise the training their employees receive. Our mem- bers are leading the way by collaborating to develop new apprenticeship standards under the government's Trailblazer initiative. Who better to design training that works for employers than the employers themselves? A recent partnership with G4S and Gateshead College (supported by EU Skills) saw 72 apprentices recruited and accepted on to the new Smart Metering Trailblazer Apprenticeship. All aged 16-18, the apprentices will be working towards the government's target of around 53 million smart meters in all homes and small businesses by the end of 2020. With our industry's heavy regula- tion and rigorous health and safety standards to adhere to, introducing new employees into the power industry can be challenging, particularly those as young as this. However, with the support of funding from the Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership, G4S and Gates- head College worked hard to put additional safeguards in place to support the learners and ensure successful outcomes. So, how do we ensure this employer-led training meets required quality levels? The Energy & Efficiency Independent Assessment Service (EEIAS) has developed a recognised and respected mark of quality for training provision within the energy and utilities sector. This quality framework benchmarks learning and assess- ment material against employer-defined best practice, criteria. The EEIAS's provider approval process and product approval process together assure quality at both an organisational and programme level, providing a mechanism for employers to use to verify the quality of in-house delivering as well as a tool for procurement of external training provision. The EEIAS's aim is to drive the quality of competence training and assessment within the gas, power, waste management and water industries up, ensuring align- ment with learner, employer and industry expectations. Nick Ellins, chief executive, Energy & Utility Skills Opinion: Healthy and safety is a subject of mockery for some, but for utilities it's a matter of life and death Designing a better future With the emphasis on STEM, it is all too easy to overlook the importance of design & technology to a solid engineering-based education. OF A COHORT OF 1,000 11-YEAR-OLDS: 111 boys and 101 girls will achieve a physics GCSE A*-C or equivalent 44 boys and 13 girls will achieve a physics A level or equivalent 21 males and 3 females will obtain an E&T degree 33 people will achieve engineering-related advanced apprenticeships Source: Engineering UK