Diploma for 14 to 19-year-olds
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3rd Mar 2010
Budding entrepreneurs urged to sign up for new Diploma
More students in Plymouth are being encouraged to sign up for the second year of an exciting new qualification which will offer teenagers the chance to work with leading manufacturing companies.
As part of Manufacturing Week (March 1 to 5), leading employers are encouraging budding entrepreneurs, engineers, technologists and design specialists to consider the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design (MPD) when making their choices for next September.
The Diploma in MPD was launched in Plymouth and 12 other areas around England last September. A total of 17 students from Notre Dame RC Girls School and Tamarside Community College signed up for the first year, and have been able to work with companies including Kawasaki Precision Machinery, Langage Farm and Ginsters.
As well as being available again in Plymouth, the qualification is being rolled out further afield across south Devon, including in Teignmouth, Tavistock, Dartmouth and Dartmoor.
Teacher Peter Robinson from Notre Dame School who is teaching the Diploma in MPD said: “We’ve had a really good first year with the Diploma in MPD, the students are loving it and some of the outcomes have been excellent. We’ve had fantastic support from local businesses and there have been some really interesting projects. Much of this Diploma can be linked in with Young Enterprise Company Programme so not only have the students been learning about how products get developed and made in different sectors, they’ve been learning a lot about the business and enterprise side as well, setting up companies and making products to actually sell.
“It is a very different approach to learning to traditional teaching in the classroom and some aspects have really pushed our students. With the coursework projects, for example, the students really have to think for themselves and the attention to detail and depth of understanding they have to demonstrate is very new to them. But they are adapting well and really getting to grips with it.”
Manufacturing Week is being organised by trade body the EEF. A series of events around the country promoting the sector will culminate on Friday with the publication of a manifesto outlining a strategy for putting the UK’s manufacturing sector at the heart of efforts to rebuild the economy, which will include careers promotion, education and training.
Nigel Fletcher, Education and Skills Adviser at the EEF, said: “There are a huge number of career opportunities at all levels within manufacturing, and young people should be given every encouragement to take advantage of them. The new Diploma in MPD is an important development, which will help many talented individuals get the skills they need to succeed in this sector. The demand from employers for better-qualified staff means the rewards can be considerable for those who make the right choices.”
One of 14 new Diplomas for 14 to 19-year-olds developed to sit alongside GCSEs and A-Levels, the Diploma in MPD is designed to provide a solid foundation either for pursuing a career in industry or undertaking further qualifications. It is delivered by consortia, or partnerships, of local schools, colleges and employers, enabling students to divide their time between the classroom, college, and the workplace.
Employers play a crucial role delivering the Diploma in MPD by working in partnership with schools and colleges to host site visits, give presentations, arrange work experience placements and mentor students through projects.
Paul Winterton, general manager of Smithaleigh-based dairy company Langage Farm, was involved in one such project when he set students from Tamarside and Notre Dame a challenge to develop a Christmas frozen gateau for his company to sell.
He said: “We made the experience as realistic as possible, asking them to research flavours through blind tastings and analysing a target market. When it came to making the gateaux, we set up a mini-production line and made sure we monitored the amount of ingredients used and rate of production, just as you would in real production to make sure your final asking price covered costs. It gave them an excellent insight into the whole manufacturing process, not just actually making the product, but all the other considerations that go into making and selling something as part of a business.”
For more information about the Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design and to read about the projects students have been involved with, visit: http://www.manufacturingdiploma.co.uk/. To find out more about Manufacturing Week, visit www.lovemanufacturing.co.uk.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Manufacturing Diploma Development Partnership, by Nexnet PR, Leeds, www.nexnet.co.uk. For further information call Nexnet on 0113 247 0029 or email joanne.mead@nexnet.co.uk or paul.newham@nexnet.co.uk.
Note to editors
The Diploma in Manufacturing and Product Design was developed by employers and covers three main themes, which are business and enterprise, product design and materials science, and production systems. Students are assessed on competency in English, maths and ICT, while additional and specialist learning options give students the chance to develop their particular interests by taking specialist courses relating to specific manufacturing sub-sectors. The flexible nature of the Diploma in MPD means that it can also be undertaken alongside other qualifications such as A-levels and GCSEs. Depending on the level and pathways followed, the Diploma in MPD will prepare young people for employment, to undertake an Apprenticeship, or to go into Further or Higher Education.
The Diploma is available at three levels. Foundation level is targeted at 14 to 16-year-olds and is equivalent to five GCSEs; higher is for 16 and 17-year-olds and is equivalent to seven GCSEs; and advanced is equivalent to three-and-a-half A-levels and is targeted at 18 and 19-year-olds.
