Title: The Steel Academy: development of key
Author(s): Richard Thomas, Assistant Dean, Faculty of Applied Design &
Engineering
Institution: Swansea Metropolitan University
Abstract:
The aim of the Steel Academy project was to provide an integrated “skills
escalator” for the metals industry in South Wales, by capitalising on the
strengths of two universities in the region, integrating existing provision
developing new programmes to fill gaps. This was achieved, with additional
side benefits not originally anticipated. As a result there now exists a single,
integrated provision in materials engineering, oriented towards the metals
industry, from sub-degree to doctoral level, with strong employer engagement.
Background and Rationale:
One of the Welsh government’s key priority areas in its economic
development strategy is the Advanced Manufacturing and Materials sector,
which forms a significant part of the Welsh economy. The sector is broad and
includes a considerable amount of work for the aerospace and automotive
industries. Historically, the production and processing of metals has
dominated manufacturing industry in Wales and, whilst copper and aluminium
production have declined, the manufacture of steel remains a major
component of the sector, with other metals, such as titanium and nickel also
playing an important role. To support this large metals manufacturing activity,
several universities and colleges provided a range of metallurgical courses,
both full-time and part-time, in both further and higher education. However,
with two or three decades of decline and restructuring within the industry, the
educational provision also declined, to the extent that for many years only one
institution, Swansea University, offered metallurgical education in Wales. The
university has retained strong links with the industry and offers a full-time
BEng programme in Materials Science and Engineering, a part-time
Integrated Graduate Development Programme at Masters level and a very
strong and highly regarded MRes/EngD programme. Part-time metallurgical
education had been provided by West Glamorgan Institute of Higher
Education, but this programme had been terminated in the late 1980s.
Recent discussions with Tata Steel and Celsa Manufacturing identified that
the industry was facing a serious skills shortage. An ageing workforce and the
lack of any opportunity to train and educate metallurgical technicians or
develop existing staff to graduate level in metallurgy on a part-time basis
meant that companies engaged in the steel industry were facing a potentially
serious shortage of skills as current staff approached retirement. To meet this
challenge, the School of Logistics and Manufacturing Engineering at
Swansea Metropolitan University and colleagues from the Materials Science
department at Swansea University to find a solution to this problem.
Implementation:
The first stage was to engage with employers to establish more precisely the
nature and scope of the problems faced by the industry. It became apparent
that whilst companies can recruit well qualified graduates in Materials Science
and Engineering from universities, a development period of, typically, two
years is necessary before these graduates begin to make an effective
contribution to the organization. This is not uncommon in many disciplines
and many larger companies have graduate development schemes to help
with this. However, The companies, particularly Tata Steel, identified a need
to supplement recruitment of graduates from full-time university programmes
with an additional route. There was a need to develop technician-level
education and a corresponding opportunity for individuals following this route
to further their education to graduate level or beyond.
During the course of these discussions, the idea of a “skills escalator”
emerged. This skills escalator would comprise an integrated educational
provision, which would start at further education level – level 3 and possibly
level 2 - and at the upper end would provide EngD/Phd opportunities. This
idea was very well received by industrial partners, but It quickly became
apparent that no single educational institution in South Wales was in a
position to meet every aspect of this emerging need for workforce
development. However, it was agreed that by working in partnership, the
majority of the skills escalator could be addressed by two institutions –
Swansea University and Swansea Metropolitan University – working in
partnership. It was agreed to prioritise university provision and then to work
with a suitable partner further education college to address the lower level
needs. It was decided that each institution would concentrate on its strengths.
For Swansea University, this meant their existing full-time degree programme,
the IGDS and MRes/EngD programmes, which are well-established and
clearly addressing important needs. Swansea Metropolitan University already
had a strong, well-regarded part-time BEng programme, with pathways in
Mechanical Engineering and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, both of
which drew students from the steel industry, making the university well placed
to address the part-time undergraduate and sub-degree need.
With Swansea Metropolitan University taking the lead in the development of a
part-time programme in Materials Engineering, consultation took place with
steel manufacturers, other industry bodies and with colleagues at Swansea
University. It was decided, firstly, to develop a completely integrated suite of
programmes with different entry and exit points. Higher National Certificate
(HNC), Higher National Diploma (HND) and Foundation Degree (FD)
qualifications were embedded within the overall envelope of the BEng in
Materials Engineering, enabling students to complete intermediate
qualifications, if they wished. They may choose to leave with one of these
qualifications or to pursue the BEng programme fully. Students who leave with
a sub-degree qualification would be able to return subsequently to “top up” the
qualification to BEng (honours).
The curriculum for the programme was designed with input from both
industrial partners and academic colleagues at Swansea University. IT was
decided that Levels 4 and 5 of the programme would cover the broad range of
materials science and engineering, whilst Level 6 would enable students to
specialise in metallurgical studies. At the same time, the increasing
application of composite materials in a range of industries, but particularly the
aerospace industry, prompted the team to include an alternative route for
specialization in polymers and composites at Level 6, broadening the
provision beyond the original vision for meeting the needs of the steel industry
to embrace another growing aspect of the advanced manufacturing and
materials sector. The structure for the programme is shown in Table 1 below.
Module
Level 4
Mathematics
Engineering Science 1
Physical Science for Materials
Introduction to Materials and
Manufacturing
Computer Aided Engineering Design
Workshop and Study Skills
Level 5
Structure and Properties of Materials
Manufacturing with Materials
Materials in Service
Manufacturing and Quality Systems
Engineering Management
Group Project
Level 6
Metals
Major Project
40
Metallurgy of Steel
20
Metallurgy of Non
Ferrous Alloys
Welding Engineering
Non Destructive Testing
Credits
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
20
Polymers and Composites
Major Project
40
Engineering with
20
Polymers
Composite Materials
20
20
20
Finite Element Analysis
Non Destructive Testing
20
20
Table 1: Steel Academy part-time BEng Materials Engineering
In addition to developing the curriculum itself, close attention was paid to the
delivery model. Swansea Metropolitan University has, for many years,
delivered a successful part-time BEng programme in Mechanical and
Manufacturing Systems Engineering. It was decided to integrate delivery of
the new BEng Materials Engineering as closely as possible with this existing
provision, particularly as some of the Level 4 and 5 modules were common.
The current model for delivering this programme is with lectures being held on
Fridays from 1 to 7 p.m, over an extended academic year of 42 weeks. This
has been well-received by both employers and employees as it minimizes the
amount of time the students need to spend away from the workplace and also
reduces the overall time needed to complete the degree, without
compromising the actual delivery hours.
With this agreement in place, the programme was put through the university’s
validation process and an initial cohort of eight students was recruited. The
first sixty Level 4 credits were delivered during this initial phase of the project.
Whilst Swansea Metropolitan University led the development, validation and
delivery of the BEng programme, colleagues at Swansea University worked
on the development of electronic material to support learning in specific
aspects of materials and steel technology.
Although the existence of a part-time BEng portfolio in Mechanical and
Manufacturing Engineering and a proven delivery model were helpful in the
development of the new Materials Engineering programme, it was still
necessary to put the programme through a full validation process. It was
encouraging to note the extremely positive and supportive comments made
by external members of the validation panel, which served to reinforce the
impression that the premise of the development of this programme was
sound.
In parallel with this activity, colleagues at Swansea University led the
development of a work based learning (WBL) programme in metallurgy, which
aimed to deliver 10 credit modules in a range of metallurgical subjects, as a
series of short courses to staff employed in industry. This provision became
known as the METAL programme and was implemented in parallel with the
BEng programme during the 2011/12 academic year. A close correspondence
with the BEng programme was designed in, to enable appropriate candidates
who complete modules on the METAL programme to enrol on the BEng and,
potentially, count credits obtained on the WBL programme.
The aim of this project was to develop a provision that addressed an
important need in a key industrial sector, with particular attention to gaps that
existed in current provision. As a result, a major curriculum development has
taken place at Swansea Metropolitan University, allied to developments at
Swansea University, along with, important spin-off benefits, as discussed
below.
Evaluation:
Quantitative analysis of this project would be difficult at this stage. At the time
of writing the report, the first cohort of students is just completing the first 60
credits of study. However, each student has participated in a structured
interview to assess their experience during their first academic year. The
background of students on the programme varies from those with three good
A levels, recruited by Tata specifically for development into graduate-level
metallurgists or process technologists, through students with Higher National
qualifications in chemistry to one student with a Higher National Certificate in
Mechanical Engineering, who decided to change discipline to Materials
Engineering because of the career opportunities it offers within the company.
Students were asked about their experience of the programme in terms of
intensity of study and delivery of the lectures, timing and scheduling and the
quality of teaching. Although each student was interviewed separately, by the
project manager rather than by a member of the teaching team, the response
was remarkably consistent. Although the students found the study quite
intensive they felt that they were prepared to undertake this kind of study
because of the potential career benefits and also felt that, at least at this
stage, it was demanding but not beyond what they could cope with. They
were uniformly happy with the extended academic year, with Friday afternoon
and evening lectures, which they felt had actually improved the likelihood of
them getting release from work to attend as it minimized disruption to their
various departments. The team were particularly gratified to see the
comments on the quality of teaching. The students made positive comments
on the sympathetic approach taken by the lecturers and the evident industrial
experience of the team, which they felt helped them to contextualize the
lecture material and thus increase the immediate relevance of the material to
their work roles.
Examination success rates will be monitored to evaluate student performance
and the effectiveness of the teaching and learning.
An interesting evaluation comes from the employers’ perspective. Tata Steel
have been particularly pleased with the programme and have decided to
increase the number of students from the company for the second cohort.
Although Swansea Metropolitan University has recruited students from Tata
onto its Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering programmes for many
years, the relationship with the company has not been particularly strong. As
a result of this programme a very close working relationship has developed,
with regular meetings to ensure that design and delivery of the programme
was appropriate. The relationship is now developing further to embrace other
opportunities to work together to help the company develop the well-educated
workforce it feels it needs to ensure its future success and a specific
recruitment pathway has been created to take good A-level students onto a
technical trainee programme, which includes the BEng Materials Engineering.
Other companies who participated in discussion early in the programme did
not feel that they were at a stage where they could candidates for the
programme at this stage, nevertheless wished to engage with it at a lower
level. This led to the development of a major short course programme in the
metallurgy of steel for Celsa Manufacturing, with four courses delivered during
the last year and further presentations scheduled for next year. Another
intensive short course programme was developed and delivered for Texturing
Technology Limited, which dealt with subjects such as roll grinding and
electroplating.
Alongside the developments at Swansea Metropolitan University, colleagues
at Swansea University secured funding from the European Social Fund to
develop a series of 10 credit work based learning course (at Level 4), which
Tata and other companies have been using to develop employees. The
examination success rate has been high and several of the participants who
have successfully completed 60 credits of study will be progressing to the
BEng programme in the next academic year. A close working relationship has
been developed between the two universities, with joint progress meetings
held and representatives from each institution sitting on the steering groups
for the various projects that comprise the Steel Academy.
Finally, work has begun with a partner further education college to try to
establish a metallurgy/materials programme at Level 3 to address the final
remaining gap in provision.
Discussion, Learning and Impact (Success):
The overall outcome of this project is the establishment of a single, integrated
“skills escalator” for the metals industry, jointly developed and delivered, by
Swansea Metropolitan University and Swansea University, which provides an
educational resource from sub-degree to doctoral level for industry. The
programme builds on existing full-time degree, MRes/EngD and Integrated
Graduate Development Scheme in Materials Science and Engineering at
Swansea University and the part-time BEng programmes in Mechanical and
Manufacturing Engineering at Swansea Metropolitan University, along with
subject expertise in both institutions to develop part-time Higher National,
Foundation Degree and BEng (honours) degree programmes in Materials
Engineering, offered on an extended academic year, with a schedule
designed to minimize disruption to work commitments. The programme was
designed and validated during the funding period, a cohort of students was
recruited and the first 60 credits of study completed.
Alongside this, additional spin-off benefits have been achieved - the ESDFfunded METAL work based learning programme, and the realization by
companies that, even if they are not currently in a position to place students
on an extended academic programme, there is an opportunity to benefit from
the expertise at either university by means of generic or specifically tailored
short courses, which may be credit-bearing and allow students to progress to
the academic programme. Some of these short courses may even give the
students entry at an advanced level.
Apart from the obvious benefits to industry of having such a comprehensive
opportunity, within an integrated framework, to develop employees to the very
highest level, other key additional benefits have been realized. The close
working relationship between the relevant departments of both universities
has benefitted both the universities and the participating companies and the
strength of the relationship developed with key employers is already having
benefits for both universities and companies.
The opportunity to secure additional funding from ESF to develop a work
based learning programme has added to the comprehensiveness of provision
and a further application for ESF funding to establish a work-based learning
programme at Level 4 and above in welding engineering has been submitted
by Swansea Metropolitan University and Neath Port Talbot College.
The development of an additional specialism in polymers and composites has
also proved to be worthwhile. Whilst this was originally developed in
anticipation of a growing need in the Welsh aerospace sector in a few years’
time, it attracted the attention of two English further education colleges with
significant He provision and partnerships have been developed to assist them
in the establishment of a similar skills escalator approach to address needs in
aerospace, marine and defence industries in their regions.
If anything, the overall impact of this project has exceeded expectations. The
original aim was achieved and several significant, additional outcomes which
were not part of the original basis for the project have been realized.
An important aspect of the project is the impact it has had on participating
universities, both in terms of improving relationships with each other and with
key employers in the metals sector, with whom an excellent working
relationship has been established. Further work to establish a Level 3
provision has begun, but is at an early stage.
Further Development and Sustainability:
It is planned to continue to offer the part-time BEng/FD/HN programme at
Swansea Metropolitan University on the same basis as the part-time
programmes in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, a programme
that has been running successfully for around fifteen years. There seems to
be a growing demand for the metals-orientated programme in South Wales,
and the demand for a polymers and composites version will be assessed on a
year-by-year basis. Work undertaken with partner FE institutions who will be
offering a degree with this particular specialism will also inform any provision
of this nature in South Wales.
Continued input from employers will be facilitated through a faculty
management position, with specific responsibility for industrial engagement
and an industrial advisory, which has recently been established and includes
representatives from employers, the automotive and aerospace forums and
Sector Skills Councils. One major employer is developing a recruitment route
to train new metallurgical specialists, who will pursue the degree as part of
their development programme. Professional body accreditation is currently
being pursued with the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.
Whilst the programme developed at Swansea Metropolitan University will
remain a part-time provision (in order not to compete with the full-time
programme at Swansea University), full-time students are already benefitting
from relationships with the extended range of companies that are engaged in
this project. For example, students have undertaken study visits to some of
these companies, there are new opportunities for full-time students to
undertake industry-based or related project work and material developed for
delivery on the part-time programme can be used to inform relevant aspects
of the full-time Mechanical Engineering programme.
Along with the HE STEM Legacy project, this project has had a major impact
on the teaching team at Swansea Metropolitan University, broadening the
range of engagement with employers, expanding horizons and providing fresh
stimuli for development of the curriculum and engineering education research.
Outputs:
The outputs of this project are principally a new, integrated part-time
BEng/FD/HN programme in Materials Engineering, with options enabling
specialism in metals or polymers and composites. This new provision
addresses an important gap in the skills escalator developed as a wider
output from this project.
Further important outputs from the project are the close working relationships
established between universities and employers in the South Wales region,
with the specific aim of developing programmes which are academically
sound, but address a genuine and urgent industrial need.
Finally, opportunities have emerged to develop a whole raft of spin-off
benefits have been developed, which include a range of generic Level 4 work
based learning modules in the science and technology of metals, specific
short courses, custom made for individual organizations, bids for European
funding to enable the development of further work based learning
programmes and the potential for a Level 3 programme in materials
engineering at a partner FE college.
In summary, the comparatively modest investment from the HE STEM
programme has enabled the development of a sustainable route for the
enhancement of the workforce in the metals and materials industries to
graduate level, and has catalysed the development of a wide range of related
activities which are well on the way to establishing a comprehensive
academic provision from Level 2 to doctoral level, with genuine partnerships
between universities and employers and a strategy for long term development
and delivery.