It’s perhaps one of the biggest conundrums in education – how to get more kids interested in STEM? One answer has been to involve industry, and a North East figurehead that has contributed considerable time, knowledge and expertise to the cause is David Land – an advocate of the current thinking to ‘start them young’.
David Land is in no doubt about the benefits of an engineering career. After all, he only has to look at his own trajectory as compelling evidence.
The North East-native started as an apprentice at Cummins Engines in Darlington and steadily worked his way through the ranks before moving to Tallent Engineering in Newton Aycliffe, which makes components for the automotive industry.
He became business development director at Talent and helped grow profits from £8 million to £200 million, and extend operations to North America, India, China and Turkey. After Gestamp acquired Tallent, David was appointed UK engineering director of the international group.
While David was as Gestamp Tallent Ltd, he was asked if he’d get involved in the first university technical college (UTC) in the North East.
UTC South Durham would be a new state-funded, purpose-built school for 14 to 19-year- olds that specialised in STEM subjects, with a focus on engineering and advanced manufacturing.
Its aim was to better prepare students for work by providing them with academic and technical education as well as building their professional skills with the involvement of local industry.
David had seen skills gaps starting to appear in the automotive industry and had already worked with a secondary school to offer several apprenticeships to its pupils.
However, he was dismayed at the reluctance of uptake for the fully funded traineeships, which he saw as a golden opportunity to start a career in engineering that had provided him so much.
Recognising the UTC as a fresh approach, he accepted the invitation to get involved.
“I liked the UTC concept because it was more about industry influencing the curriculum. There was the opportunity for students to be more business ready. We now describe it as ‘work-life ready’. That really appealed to me.”
Gestamp joined Hitachi and the University of Sunderland as founding partners of UTC South Durham, which opened in September 2016.
Instead of the traditional 25-hour week, students at the technical college study for 31 hours, with the extra six hours dedicated to industry led, problem-based learning.
“The college has a huge engineering hall at its heart with tools that you’d see in industry, and around 150 businesses are actively involved in helping its students,” David adds.
Over the last six years, UTC South Durham has seen the yearly intake of students swell from 140 students to over 450, and David reports that all 600+ graduated students – recruited across 14 political constituencies in the North East – have gone on to a job, an apprenticeship or to further education.
David has continued to play a pivotal part in the development of the Newton Aycliffe-based UTC and he is now chair of its governing body.
The former apprentice explains that recent discussions have moved to how UTC South Durham can extend its influence beyond the school gates.
One answer has been to establish the North East STEM Foundation in January 2020.
“We set up the charitable foundation so that it could raise money to help support the UTC and transport some of its special projects to children in schools across the North East,” David reveals.
In the two years since the foundation began, it has awarded two significant donations to help UTC South Durham action its outreach programmes.
“We’re currently speaking to a school in Gateshead about helping its robotics. And we’re about to launch Future Makers,” David explains.
The Future Makers project will pilot this year and will see ‘STEM stars’ visiting primary schools across the region to teach children more about the possibilities of engineering and advanced manufacturing.
“Everything you touch in your daily life has had to be designed and manufactured and so the earlier we get kids excited about that, the better,” David enthuses.
The ambitious project aims to work with primary school children over a three-year period (years four, five and six), providing them with practical STEM-based learning.
“We want people from industry going into the schools and invigorating the kids’ enthusiasm so they’ll take that into the early part of secondary school. By the time they’re choosing their GCSE options, they’re at least thinking about a job in engineering and manufacturing. “We like to think of it as supporting ‘from cradle to career’.”
The foundation is talking to a number of companies and individuals about getting involved, and it has held several fundraising dinners and events at the technical college.
“People who come to UTC South Durham have the wow factor in two ways,” David explains. “Firstly, the space. It’s not like a school. It’s halfway between school and industry.
“Then there are the students. They do a far better job at selling the school as they have the confidence and the tools to talk passionately about their journey.”
David left Gestamp in 2014 and has since been involved in setting up several consulting companies – including IA Growth Ltd and Drive 2 Business – which provide strategic support to small and medium-sized engineering and manufacturing businesses.
He has also established the Engineering Manufacturing Network as a way of bringing the local community together.
These latter roles have enabled David to better appreciate the challenges smaller engineers and manufacturers face, but he maintains they have just as vital a role in supporting the next generation as larger corporates.
“By getting SMEs involved in the UTC, the students see somebody that’s prepared to have a go and who’s got confidence in their own ability,” David reflects. “In return, they get a fresh pair of eyes on things.”
Reducing skills gaps in the UK’s economy is a tall order, and David appreciates that closing the disconnect between education and industry will take work. But as long as we have people like him who are willing to share his experience and passion, we can ensure there is a new generation who appreciate the importance of STEM and the benefits of forging a path in engineering and manufacturing.
For further information on UTC South Durham visit www.utcsouthdurham.org
