WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence and Tameside College pioneer new approach to bridging education and industry.
Maker to Mentor, a project funded by WorldSkills UK and NCFE through the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence, and led by Tameside College, has demonstrated how closer collaboration between education and industry can help tackle advanced manufacturing skills gaps and strengthen the expertise of educators and engineers.
The project explored and tested different approaches to dual professionalism, examining how closer collaboration between educators and industry professionals could strengthen both technical expertise and teaching practice.
Through employer-led continuing professional development (CPD), educators and learners gained experience of Industry 4.0 technologies, including robotics, automation, computer-aided design (CAD) and additive manufacturing. Industry professionals, meanwhile, developed their teaching capabilities through the Level 3 Award in Education and Training (AET), opening up opportunities to contribute to further education delivery.
The project attracted support from manufacturing employers across Greater Manchester, including Siemens, Amazon and Whitecroft Lighting, with employers playing an active role in shaping learning and bringing real-world industry experience into the curriculum.
This collaboration also helped integrate immersive virtual reality (VR) and 360-degree resources into teaching, connecting technical learning with authentic industrial environments and practices.
The results demonstrated the value of employer-led professional development, with confidence improving across seven assessed technical skill areas. Average confidence scores rose from 2.95 to 4.18 out of five, with 20 of the 21 learner and educator participants assessed recording a measurable improvement. The greatest gains were in areas where confidence was initially lowest, including quality assurance and ISO procedures, and the use of digital manufacturing tools such as CNC and robotics.
The project also strengthened industry professionals’ confidence in lesson planning, assessment, learner engagement, inclusive teaching and reflective practice, helping employers build their own capacity to train and mentor the next generation of engineers.
The approach reflects the importance of WorldSkills UK’s learnings from international best practice at the WorldSkills competition, where technical excellence and close collaboration between education and industry help raise standards.
Building on these findings, WorldSkills UK and NCFE will share the learning with members of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This will enable providers to explore and test how different approaches to dual professionalism can be adapted to their own industries and local labour market needs, strengthening employer partnerships and helping technical education keep pace with changing workforce needs.
Jodie McCormick, Assistant Principal at Tameside College: “This project has shown what can be achieved when education and industry come together with a shared ambition to inspire and develop the workforce of the future. At Tameside College, it has transformed the way we collaborate with employers bringing industry expertise directly into our curriculum, giving our staff greater exposure to the latest technologies and creating exciting, authentic learning experiences for our students. Just as importantly, we have supported industry professionals to become educators, mentors and champions for the next generation, creating a powerful exchange of knowledge between the classroom and the workplace. The project has strengthened partnerships, raised aspirations and created a sustainable model that will continue to support employers and open new opportunities for people across Tameside and Greater Manchester. We are incredibly proud to be helping build the skilled, confident and innovative workforce our region needs for the future.”
Parisa Shirazi, Director of Standards, WorldSkills UK said: “This project demonstrates the value of bringing educators and industry professionals together to share expertise, strengthen technical knowledge and develop the skills to train and mentor the next generation. By sharing what we have learned and supporting providers to adapt these approaches to their own industries, we can raise standards in technical education, better prepare learners for the workplace and help employers build the skilled workforce needed to drive productivity and economic growth.”
Dr Rebecca Conway, Director for Research and Innovation at NCFE, said: “At NCFE, we’re passionate about supporting innovation in technical and vocational education that delivers better outcomes for learners. This project demonstrates the value of bringing education and industry closer together, helping educators keep pace with technological change while drawing on industry expertise. Tameside College’s collaboration with Siemens shows how strong provider-employer partnerships can raise teaching standards and ensure learners develop skills that are relevant to a changing workplace.”
Ireen Kapoor, Tameside College student said: “Taking part in the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence Innovation Project has given me a much clearer understanding of what it is like to work in the engineering industry. Working alongside employers and using industry-standard equipment made learning much more realistic and helped me understand how the skills I develop in college are applied in the workplace. I feel much more confident in my technical abilities, better prepared for future employment and excited about pursuing a career in advanced manufacturing.”
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