Work Experience Energises Pupils Courtesy of the Smallpeice Trust
From 8th to 12th April, fifty students from schools across the country, enjoyed a unique work experience course at the National Grid Training Centre near Newark, Nottinghamshire.
Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, May 03, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Run in conjunction with the UK’s largest utility company, National Grid, this residential learning opportunity gave students an insight into the future of energy and the industry as a whole. Over the five days, the lucky students worked with real engineers from National Grid to see first-hand how the supply of energy works. This included learning about the anatomy of the nation’s energy networks and taking a close up view of high-voltage substations, lines and cables.
Students also explored the scale of the ‘hardware’ used to keep our lights on and our gas flowing. This included a tour round a major power station to find out how electricity is generated and a visit to a gas compressor site to develop a deeper knowledge of how gas is moved around in volume.
Social activities included a film evening and a sports night. On the final night, The Smallpeice Trust and National Grid hosted a conference style dinner, attended by Sara Habib, Head of Emergency Response and Repair Process. Students and supervisors heard Sara speak about her career based on engineering and had the opportunity to socialise and share their experiences of the week.
Tony Moloney, National Grid’s UK Education and Skills Manager said, “We are delighted to have been able to offer this week in partnership with The Smallpeice Trust. We think this is a superb way to show young people the world of engineering and work generally, and is an approach we are keen to continue and develop further. As a major engineering employer we recognise our responsibility to help young people understand where their science, maths and technology studies could lead them. By harnessing our own technical resources, The Smallpeice Trust’s experience of running residential courses schools, and the expertise of the Royal Academy of Engineering who helped develop the week, we believe we are setting new standards in the provision of work-based learning for schools students.”
Dr Andrew Cave, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust commented: “Thanks to generous support from National Grid, we were able to give students a meaningful opportunity to explore careers in this exciting and fast-changing sector. Improving the current skills base in the UK presents a major challenge when it comes to meeting our low carbon targets and achieving National Grid’s goal of developing an energy system that can underpin our economic prosperity in the 21st century. We hope this opportunity will encourage students to go on to play their part in tackling climate change and sustainable energy solutions for the future.”
The National Grid Engineering Experience course is run by National Grid in partnership with the independent charity, The Smallpeice Trust, and is part of an ongoing programme of residential courses to help young people aged 13 to 18 learn and develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing. A similar second National Grid Engineering Experience course is scheduled to take place this summer.
Bookings are now being taken for Smallpeice summer residential courses. Visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk or telephone 01926 333200 for further details.
Notes to editors:
About The Smallpeice Trust:
The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.
The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966 by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”
About National Grid:
National Grid is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the centre of the energy system and we ‘join everything up’.
In Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country. In the North Eastern US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles.
Students also explored the scale of the ‘hardware’ used to keep our lights on and our gas flowing. This included a tour round a major power station to find out how electricity is generated and a visit to a gas compressor site to develop a deeper knowledge of how gas is moved around in volume.
Social activities included a film evening and a sports night. On the final night, The Smallpeice Trust and National Grid hosted a conference style dinner, attended by Sara Habib, Head of Emergency Response and Repair Process. Students and supervisors heard Sara speak about her career based on engineering and had the opportunity to socialise and share their experiences of the week.
Tony Moloney, National Grid’s UK Education and Skills Manager said, “We are delighted to have been able to offer this week in partnership with The Smallpeice Trust. We think this is a superb way to show young people the world of engineering and work generally, and is an approach we are keen to continue and develop further. As a major engineering employer we recognise our responsibility to help young people understand where their science, maths and technology studies could lead them. By harnessing our own technical resources, The Smallpeice Trust’s experience of running residential courses schools, and the expertise of the Royal Academy of Engineering who helped develop the week, we believe we are setting new standards in the provision of work-based learning for schools students.”
Dr Andrew Cave, Chief Executive of The Smallpeice Trust commented: “Thanks to generous support from National Grid, we were able to give students a meaningful opportunity to explore careers in this exciting and fast-changing sector. Improving the current skills base in the UK presents a major challenge when it comes to meeting our low carbon targets and achieving National Grid’s goal of developing an energy system that can underpin our economic prosperity in the 21st century. We hope this opportunity will encourage students to go on to play their part in tackling climate change and sustainable energy solutions for the future.”
The National Grid Engineering Experience course is run by National Grid in partnership with the independent charity, The Smallpeice Trust, and is part of an ongoing programme of residential courses to help young people aged 13 to 18 learn and develop skills in engineering, design, technology and manufacturing. A similar second National Grid Engineering Experience course is scheduled to take place this summer.
Bookings are now being taken for Smallpeice summer residential courses. Visit www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk or telephone 01926 333200 for further details.
Notes to editors:
About The Smallpeice Trust:
The Smallpeice Trust is an independent charitable trust which promotes engineering as a career, primarily through the provision of residential courses for young people aged 13 to 18.
The Smallpeice Trust was founded in 1966 by Dr Cosby Smallpeice, a pioneering engineer and inventor of the Smallpeice Lathe. Following the stock market flotation of his company Martonair, Dr Smallpeice invested his energy and part of his personal fortune to set up the Trust to ensure that British industry could continuously benefit from his proven design and engineering philosophies: “Simplicity in design, economy in production.”
About National Grid:
National Grid is an electricity and gas company that connects consumers to energy sources through its networks. The company is at the heart of one of the greatest challenges facing our society - to create new, sustainable energy solutions for the future and developing an energy system that underpins economic prosperity in the 21st century. National Grid holds a vital position at the centre of the energy system and we ‘join everything up’.
In Britain, we run the gas and electricity systems that our society is built on, delivering gas and electricity across the country. In the North Eastern US, we connect more than seven million gas and electric customers to vital energy sources, essential for our modern lifestyles.
Contact
The Smallpeice Trust:
Gemma Murphy
+44(0)1926 333214
www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
Gemma Murphy
+44(0)1926 333214
www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk
Contact
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