Next generation of net zero engineers in UK
Redcar and Cleveland College are collaborating with a Teesside business to inspire and teach the much-needed next generation of net zero engineers. A carbon Capture Training Rig is being developed by JBA Engineering at the Wilton Centre.
It will play a significant role in the college’s new £3.2 million Clean Energy Education Hub. Students have visited the Wilton Centre, one of the eight UK locations owned by Pioneer Group, which houses several businesses working on circular economy and Net Zero initiatives.
https://www.cleveland.ac.uk/news/students-first-look-at-new-carbon-capture-training-rig
They saw the development of the rig there, which will simulate the environment in which they will work.
Claire Morton, the leasing and assistant asset manager for the Wilton Centre, said that it was wonderful to see one of its tenants collaborating with the community college.
Hopefully some of the kids will come here soon to start their professions. Warren McConnel, a 17-year-old Level 3 engineering students who think the rig would help him properly prepare for the workforce, may be one of them.
You’ll be able to see how it works while starting at a screen, we’ll really be doing it. The rig was created by JBA subsidiary DarbyTech Training Equipment, and in addition to having all the necessary components, it is also equipped with QR codes that allow students to access online learning materials.
According to JBA Operation Director Russ Holmes, this rig will help prepare people for the knowledge and skills necessary for the jobs of the future in Teesside’s emerging clean energy industries.
Massive skills gap in engineering to be filled
The managing director of DarbyTech, Gary Lawson, continued, this is all about delivering a hands – on learning experience in a secure setting. At the same time, we’re all working to encourage young people to pursue engineering and to emphasise the significant contribution that they will be making to the planet’s future.
Maddi Darbyshire, UK, A 17-year-old engineering student at Redcar and Cleveland College, will be able to fulfil a lifelong dream. Maddi, who will soon begin her level 4 course, stated it was always her goal to do something like this.
From there, she’s either considering training there later 2023, and Dave Thompson, who is directing the carbon capture training rig project at Redcar and Cleveland College’s Clean Energy Education Hub, said their new skills wiLl be in high demand.
There is a huge skill gap in engineering, and as the workforce ages, it is clear that this is a gap that needs to be filled. He stressed the need of simulating a functioning, live plant in the training ring, saying
“The kit the students are working on ought to resemble what they’ll encounter in industry. We desired something remarkable with some height and adequate vessels, and we are obtaining all of those things.
The Town Deal, a component of the government’s levelling up policy, provides the majority of the funding for the Clean Energy Education Hub, with other contributions coming from the Education Training Collective and the Skills Development Fund.
The centre will provide adult learners and school leavers training in addition to higher education, professional, commercial, and customised employer -led programming.
The initiative also got a gift from bp, which is participating in three projects in the area, to encourage community involvement and continued development of the hub, with a particular emphasis on educating nearby schoolchildren about the potential in the renewable energy industry.
Source: The Northern Echo
