On the 22nd May we held an event in conjunction with our newly joined member, the University of Chester. The event focussed on Bridging the Science & Engineering Skills Gap and was based around the group answering three key questions:
1. How can undergraduate teaching be improved to produce more industry ready graduates?
2. What types of undergraduate work placements work best for research and recruitment?
3. What are the advanced training needs of apprentices and what is the overlap with university teaching?
The event was held at Thornton Science Park, which was the former Shell site and has now been taken over by the University of Chester. The University are in the process of introducing some new courses including Chemical Engineering to their prospectus and some of these courses will be run from the site. The event included a site tour of the campus and some of the facilities available.
We are hoping to run a follow on event in relation to this on the skills gaps in the industry which will bring together collaboration between universities and apprenticeships. Please keep an eye out for further details.
