www.thalesgroup.com
Engineering UK Education & Skills Panel
Thales UK: Employer perspectives on
Education developments and their needs
Angela Reich, Director, Education and Engineering
Development
21 February 2013
Contents
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Thales UK: who are we ?
What do we need ?
Implications for Education
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
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Thales UK: Who are we ?
World leaders in mission-critical information systems
Thales UK
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Thales in the UK
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Circa 8,000 employees
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13 key locations
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Circa 4,000 engineers & technicians
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90% qualified to degree level or above
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Invested more than £3bn in UK over last 10 years
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Annual sales: £1.5bn
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a substantial proportion of UK sales are exports
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MoD ranks Thales UK as its highest performing
key supplier
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Over 120 years history in Thales UK
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
Key UK sites
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Basingstoke
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Belfast
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Bristol
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Cambridge
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Cheadle Heath (Manchester)
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Crawley
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Doncaster
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Glasgow
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Leicester
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London
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Reading
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Templecombe
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Weybridge
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
How technology from Thales is used in the UK
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Aerospace
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Flight simulators
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Air navigation
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Avionics
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Air traffic management
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Collision avoidance
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Passenger terminal security
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Airport crisis management
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In-flight entertainment
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Satellite comms
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Cabin connectivity
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
How technology from Thales is used in the UK
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Defence
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Surveillance
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Force protection
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Complex weapons systems
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Air command
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Mission management
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Air navigation
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Information management
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Military avionics
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Radar
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Unmanned air systems
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Electronic warfare
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Optronic systems
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Naval communications
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
How technology from Thales is used in the UK
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Security
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Transport safety
Cyber security
Counter terrorism systems
Monitoring & control
systems
Chemical, biological,
radiological and nuclear
(CBRN)
Power stations
Network security
Infrastructure protection
Revenue management
systems
Secure transactions
Telecommunications
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
How technology from Thales is used in the UK
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Transport
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Urban and mainline signalling
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Train control, axle counters,
interlockings, train protection
and warning systems
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Services, supervision
and control
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Integrated communications
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Security and information
management
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Transport information and
telecommunications systems
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Technological solutions
for roads
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
Thales UK
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Supporting graduates & apprentices
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130 graduates in 2011/12
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Two year Graduate Development Programme
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50 apprentices in rail business and aerospace
Advanced Modern Apprenticeship, inc Level 2+3 NVQ
Educational links
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Participate in National and Regional Big Bang
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UK sites support National Science & Engineering Week
activities with local schools each year
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Sponsorship of Scottish Technology Prize
(Laser Applications)
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Thales UK
Summary
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We operate in multiple technology areas
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Key disciplines: Systems, Electronic & Software engineering
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We are geographically distributed
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We perform specialised manufacture
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E.g. periscopes, simulators, radar
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Outsource non-core e.g. pcbs, power supplies, chassis
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
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Thales UK: what do we
need ?
Needs
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Skills replacement for maturing population
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High-calibre engineers
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Graduate trainees
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Experienced hire
Strategic target intake of 90 engineering graduates per year
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Difficulty recruiting the number and calibre of engineering graduate engineers
required, particularly in software
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Internships used to ensure student pipeline: better conversion rate than
sponsorship
Small numbers of apprentices focussed on shortages & skills
replacement
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Engineering Priority Skill Needs
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Systems Engineering Managers
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Systems engineers
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Degrees in computer science & electronic engineering
Software engineers
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Degrees in computer science & software engineering
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Emerging technologies e.g. cyber-security
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Safety & Airworthiness
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SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition)
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Nuclear control resilience : Coral
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Synthetic Engineering/Simulation
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Rail test and commissioning
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Potential to use apprenticeships here
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
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Thales UK: implications for
education
Spheres of Influence
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6
ENVIRONMENT
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Government Policy
Population Demographics
Economic context
Public perception of Engineering
Numbers studying STEM at school
Quality of STEM teaching in school
Engineering careers
advice
Internship
programme
Security issues
Ensure
CONTROL
strategic
graduate
numbers
INFLUENCE
Image
Attractiveness of
Thales UK
Uni
School
Other Cos
Job, Salary, Career progression,
Development
Satisfaction, Work interest
Graduate programme, Student
internships
Maximise impact
of Thales effort
Low influence
from STEM
Outreach
because of
numbers
reached.
Influence weaker
in earlier years
STEM Pipeline
Job
STEM
Outreach
Thales UK STEM Pipeline: Analysis
Leave
Other Cos
Opportunity
to Increase
STEM
Outreach &
School
quality
Universities
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We focus on universities considered high standard
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Need more good students taking key degree subjects
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E.g. electronic engineering
Need to keep standards high
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E.g. Russell Group
We are concerned that “employability skills” may be at the expense of technical
skills - our graduate development programme develops soft skills
It is difficult, at this stage, to predict the long term effect of the £9k
tuition fees

There has been a drop in applications to university
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There are currently too many universities, too many students, and too many
courses which should not be degree level
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If the impact of the rise in fees ensures that students are going to be more
rigorous in their choice of degree and institution, this is a good thing
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
… Still worth pushing for need for top
academic achievers …
Thales UK Head of Engineering
School Qualifications 1/2
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A rigorous education system
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Equip children for the world of work by high standards of literacy and numeracy
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Re Michael Gove educational reforms - it is difficult to comment further until we
are clear on what the reforms will look like going forward.
Focus on high standard in the core subjects such as English and
Maths
… as a graduate recruiter I am sometimes horrified by
the poor quality of applications we receive – particularly
in English spelling and grammar.
Thales UK Head of Graduate Resourcing &
Development
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
School Qualifications 2/2
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Neutral regarding modular approach vs final exams
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Forgetting vs cramming
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Need consistency between schools and universities
Neutral re engineering diploma
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No noticeable impact so far
DO NEED Software engineering/programming experience in
schools
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Where are the good quality teachers coming from ?
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Careers Advice
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Schools: KEY AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT
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Careers advice in schools is either extremely poor or nonexistent
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No perceptible improvement in last 30 years
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The push of pupils to University ignores accurate or appropriate guidance
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Not all sciences are equal
In the minefield of HE/FE the lack of good careers advice in schools needs to be
addressed
This cannot be the responsibility of industry alone
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Need coverage of all pupils, not just in industrial centres
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Professional institutions/bodies should work together to ensure common,
consistent message
Careers advice in Universities is adequate

Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013
Key Points
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We need delivery from University – do the job
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Raise UCAS tariffs, challenge schools etc. as needed to create the graduates
needed
We should not need to understand the school system
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Stability & Consistency
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Simplicity
Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013