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The vocational education and training of technicians and engineers

Abstract

Along with widespread concern over the poor quality of all aspects of Technician and Engineers' courses, there is confusion over many of the critical concepts involved which this research necessarily had to provide prior solutions to before undertaking the field work.
After establishing validity criteria, a questionnaire survey of a sample of 205 practising experienced Mechanical and Electrical Technicians and Engineers from London and the West Midlands was undertaken which met these criteria.
The Major Findings were:
1. Of a dozen posited goals, 'Technical knowledge, skills, and techniques' were unequivically supreme; 'Numeracy' was virtually the lowest ranked.
2. Work Experience was found to be overwhelmingly superior to both Further Education and Industrial Training in enhancing the desired qualities, throwing into doubt the whole justification for expensive courses.
3. The following concept was evolved as a reference criteria for courses:
the education and training provision for any particular activity should be proportionate to both the known need and the probability of a graduate using that activity or syllabus item.
4. There was little agreement between the needs of the job and prior course provision.
5. Mathematics was shown to be over-provided for. A substantial proportion of all mathematics above that of about GCE 'O' level should be dropped from all courses.
6. The mutually exclusive course options for the Electrical Technicians were found to be at variance with such personnel's job requirements.
7. The syllabuses contained much that was of little use and omitted much that was required.
8. This impressive list of failure of existing courses shows that current course planning is ineffective.
9. The above is evidence against the post-war trend to less job-centered courses. The Professional Engineer route should be restricted to the part-time one.
10. If the above results are thought too radical for implementation, even though they are often supported by other studies, then there is an urgent need for this research to be duplicated.


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