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This entry is a Finalist in the “Nurturing Talent” category on Wednesday 22 June 2011
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Neil Spurgeon Managing Director Spurgeon Training |
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| Consortium Engineering Pathway |
| 14-19 Diplomas have brought alternative, modular, vocation-orientated pathways to post-16 education. This causes uncertainty for young learners trying to select the most suitable course. In the Fareham and Gosport Consortium in Hampshire, the importance of effective information, advice and guidance was most pronounced on the Engineering Diploma courses, where the sheer range of potential careers led to confusion over which of the many progression routes available to take. The Consortium collaborated closely with our students to design and build an online reference guide aimed at school students to help them, teachers and parents make informed career decisions at age thirteen. |
| Impact | Innovation | |
| The main impact has been upon students and their parents although some teachers and careers advisers have also shown interest and learned from the tool. Few children, and even fewer parents in the early stages of their Secondary Education (aged around 13) really have a broad view of possible careers and the stereotype of the Engineer (more commonly seen as a ‘mere’ mechanic) is widespread, especially but not exclusively among females. | The truly innovative part of this particular college based project was the deployment as the main researchers of children who are already undertaking the Engineering Diploma. Adults simply helped to pull the findings together into a concerted whole, but the research and the development was utterly transformed by the actions of the children themselves who, once organised into project teams under their own project managers, virtually ran the research activity without much adult supervision. | |
| Insight | Inspiration | |
| This project was adopted by the author at a late stage when virtually nothing had been achieved and extensive time and some resource had been wasted. Very little time remained and the need was to create a meaningful solution which would be a viable first phase with very little time in hand. Choosing to give the students free rein was a risky but ultimately proved to be a hugely successful strategy. Trusting very junior staff can sometimes be a thoroughly and surprisingly effective way to meet a business need with amazing new insights. | The iGeneration will be joining your firm in the next year or two and the difference between these folks and even the youngest of your current employees may very well surprise you. They have many lessons to teach us about what can be achieved and how by allowing them to operate as they wish rather than trying to force them into what we older folks believe is the only ‘correct’ way to do things, can often create quicker and more efficient, although at first rather ‘odd’ looking, solutions to some of our deeper problems in business. |
| Neil Spurgeon |
 Following almost 30 years in the Royal Navy, Neil worked as a Computer Science Lecturer in various FE Colleges and Universities for 8 years culminating a spell as an Information and Learning Technology (ILT) Champion. Three years as e-Government Development Advisor to West Sussex County Council were followed by appointment as IT Manager at Fareham College. Until December he led on all ILT/Web Projects there.Now the Managing Director of a small eLearning consultancy Neil is only too happy to offer his considerable expertise to companies seeking to use effective on-line learning systems and methods. |
