angela reich, director, education and engineering development 21 february 2013

www.thalesgroup.com

Engineering UK Education & Skills Panel

Thales UK: Employer perspectives on Education developments and their

needsAngela Reich, Director, Education and Engineering Development

21 February 2013

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Thales UK Engineering Education Feb 2013

Contents

Thales UK: who are we ? What do we need ? Implications for Education

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Thales UK: Who are we ?

World leaders in mission-critical information systems

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Thales in the UK Circa 8,000 employees 13 key locations Circa 4,000 engineers & technicians

90% qualified to degree level or above Invested more than £3bn in UK over last 10 years Annual sales: £1.5bn

a substantial proportion of UK sales are exports MoD ranks Thales UK as its highest performing

key supplier Over 120 years history in Thales UK

Thales UK4 /

Thales UK

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Basingstoke Belfast Bristol Cambridge Cheadle Heath (Manchester) Crawley Doncaster Glasgow Leicester London Reading Templecombe Weybridge

Key UK sites5 /

Thales UK

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Aerospace Flight simulators Air navigation Avionics Air traffic management Collision avoidance Passenger terminal security Airport crisis management In-flight entertainment Satellite comms Cabin connectivity

How technology from Thales is used in the UK6 /

Thales UK

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Defence Surveillance Force protection Complex weapons systems Air command Mission management Air navigation Information management Military avionics Radar Unmanned air systems Electronic warfare Optronic systems Naval communications


Thales UK

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Security Transport safety Cyber security Counter terrorism systems Monitoring & control

systems Chemical, biological,

radiological and nuclear (CBRN)

Power stations Network security Infrastructure protection Revenue management

systems Secure transactions Telecommunications


Thales UK

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Transport Urban and mainline signalling

Train control, axle counters, interlockings, train protection and warning systems

Services, supervision and control

Integrated communications Security and information

management Transport information and

telecommunications systems Technological solutions

for roads


Thales UK

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Supporting graduates & apprentices 130 graduates in 2011/12 Two year Graduate Development Programme 50 apprentices in rail business and aerospace

Advanced Modern Apprenticeship, inc Level 2+3 NVQ

Educational links Participate in National and Regional Big Bang UK sites support National Science & Engineering Week

activities with local schools each year Sponsorship of Scottish Technology Prize

(Laser Applications)

Thales UK10 /

Thales UK

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Summary

We operate in multiple technology areas Key disciplines: Systems, Electronic & Software engineering

We are geographically distributed We perform specialised manufacture

E.g. periscopes, simulators, radar Outsource non-core e.g. pcbs, power supplies, chassis

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Thales UK: what do we need ?

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Needs

Skills replacement for maturing population

High-calibre engineers Graduate trainees Experienced hire

Strategic target intake of 90 engineering graduates per year Difficulty recruiting the number and calibre of engineering graduate engineers

required, particularly in software Internships used to ensure student pipeline: better conversion rate than

sponsorship

Small numbers of apprentices focussed on shortages & skills replacement

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Engineering Priority Skill Needs

Systems Engineering Managers Systems engineers

Degrees in computer science & electronic engineering Software engineers

Degrees in computer science & software engineering Emerging technologies e.g. cyber-security Safety & Airworthiness SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) Nuclear control resilience : Coral Synthetic Engineering/Simulation Rail test and commissioning

Potential to use apprenticeships here

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Thales UK: implications for education

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Thales UK STEM Pipeline: Analysis

ENVIRONMENTGovernment PolicyPopulation DemographicsEconomic context

Spheres of Influence16 /

INFLUENCE

ImageAttractiveness of

Thales UKCONTROL

Job, Salary, Career progression, DevelopmentSatisfaction, Work interestGraduate programme, Student internships

Public perception of EngineeringNumbers studying STEM at schoolQuality of STEM teaching in school

STEM PipelineJob LeaveSchool Uni Other Cos

Other Cos

Retirement

Opportunity to Increase

STEM Outreach &

School quality

Ensure strategic graduate numbers

Security issues

Low influence from STEM Outreach because of numbers reached.Influence weaker in earlier years

Engineering careers advice Internship

programme

Maximise impact of Thales effort

STEM Outreach

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Universities

We focus on universities considered high standard E.g. Russell Group

Need more good students taking key degree subjects E.g. electronic engineering

Need to keep standards high We are concerned that “employability skills” may be at the expense of technical

skills - our graduate development programme develops soft skills It is difficult, at this stage, to predict the long term effect of the £9k

tuition fees There has been a drop in applications to university There are currently too many universities, too many students, and too many

courses which should not be degree level If the impact of the rise in fees ensures that students are going to be more

rigorous in their choice of degree and institution, this is a good thing

… Still worth pushing for need for top academic achievers …

Thales UK Head of Engineering

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School Qualifications 1/2

A rigorous education system Equip children for the world of work by high standards of literacy and numeracy Re Michael Gove educational reforms - it is difficult to comment further until we

are clear on what the reforms will look like going forward. Focus on high standard in the core subjects such as English and

Maths

… as a graduate recruiter I am sometimes horrified by the poor quality of applications we receive – particularly

in English spelling and grammar. Thales UK Head of Graduate Resourcing &

Development

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School Qualifications 2/2

Neutral regarding modular approach vs final exams Forgetting vs cramming Need consistency between schools and universities

Neutral re engineering diploma No noticeable impact so far

DO NEED Software engineering/programming experience in schools

Where are the good quality teachers coming from ?

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Careers Advice

Schools: KEY AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT Careers advice in schools is either extremely poor or nonexistent No perceptible improvement in last 30 years The push of pupils to University ignores accurate or appropriate guidance

Not all sciences are equal In the minefield of HE/FE the lack of good careers advice in schools needs to be

addressed This cannot be the responsibility of industry alone

Need coverage of all pupils, not just in industrial centres Professional institutions/bodies should work together to ensure common,

consistent message

Careers advice in Universities is adequate

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Key Points

We need delivery from University – do the job Raise UCAS tariffs, challenge schools etc. as needed to create the graduates

needed

We should not need to understand the school system Stability & Consistency Simplicity

angela reich, director, education and engineering development 21 february 2013

Documents

contentsthales uk

education developments

engineering development21

roadshow technology

transport urban

yearsannual sales

degree level

employees13 key locationscirca