Training Skills Feature Library
Operations Engineer's library catalogues editorial features going back five years.
Access to all archive material is free to all, including non-members of IPlantE
(the Institution of Operations Engineers) or BES (Bureau of Engineer Surveyors), under
the umbrella of SOE (Society of Operations Engineers). However, to discover the
many benefits of becoming an SOE member, please click here.
09/12/2024
Comment: Academics over experience
For many years now, the Test, Inspection and Certification (TIC) sector has experienced challenges associated with recruitment. Finding the right person with the appropriate amount of relevant experience and the appropriate academic ...
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14/11/2022
T Levels - the new broom
The first engineering repair standard in the new T Level course suite took its first learners in September. Will Dalrymple reviews the course and approach
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22/09/2022
Serving with pride
A couple of months ago, Society member and former REME warrant officer Eddie McLellan was profiled here (www.is.gd/ilobot). The article recounted his transition out of the Armed Forces.
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15/08/2022
Hello from me
Steve Rees, chair, Institution of Plant Engineers, introduces himself. He writes: my membership in IPlantE began in 2006, when I started a part-time Open University course in general engineering.
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18/07/2022
New faces
With the decline of manufacturing in the UK, it is getting harder to find candidates for engineer surveyor roles that qualified in the traditional way, by apprenticing in an industry, then gaining experience and gaining qualifications. I ...
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19/01/2022
Turning the apprentice ship around
In the quest to breathe new life – and success – into apprenticeships across its sector, the Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) has appointed Karen Slade as its new head of end-point assessment. She speaks about what that ...
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01/11/2019
Steady on the tiller
The SOE’s new patron is Sir John Parker, a near 60-year veteran of industry. He sat down with OE to reflect on his career in shipbuilding and heavy industry and to state the importance of carrying on learning
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01/11/2019
Comment: Diversity is key
The cover story this month comes from an interview with new SOE Patron Sir John Parker – a man that has held many roles for nearly 60 years.
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04/07/2019
Heads together
The University of Chester has launched a Science Industry Process/Plant Engineer Degree Apprenticeship after working with the Institution of Chemical Engineers and employers in the North West
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07/03/2019
Artful Apprentices
National Apprenticeship Week, 4-8 March, shines a light on future technicians and engineers, and the courses, teachers and employers that prepare them for success. Here, apprentices across industry say their piece.
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04/01/2019
A defining moment
A working group behind a ‘plant mechanic’ trailblazer apprenticeship submission seeks approval from the Institute for Apprenticeships
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02/11/2018
Past, present and future
Verity Davidge, head of education and skills policy at manufacturers’ organisation EEF, speaks about the current skills situation in maintenance-related occupations, and what the future may hold
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07/08/2013
The new broom
As the Society of Operations Engineers – home to BES, IPlantE and IRTE – welcomes its new chief executive, Brian Tinham finds out more about the man and his ambitions for this important professional engineering institution
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07/08/2013
Engineering the future on shoulders of giants
Should we have been surprised that the inaugural Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering went to the founders of the world-wide web? Yes, their innovations rank right up there among the giants, changing the lives of billions globally... But ...
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05/10/2012
Academics to engineers
Building up individuals' plant engineering skills is always rewarding, but for one training company that took on Nigeria, the experience has been mega. Brian Tinham reports
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08/06/2012
Hard headed young engineers
It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, they used to say. And so it is with interest that we observe a significant rise in the numbers of engineering, technology, science and maths students taking up 'The Year in Industry' scheme, ...
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06/02/2012
It’s all about engineering
As Chancellor George Osborne ramps up the rhetoric on manufacturing, with his 'march of the makers' theme, while Prime Minister David Cameron and much of the coalition cabinet dance to a similar 'rebalancing the economy' tune, British ...
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08/08/2011
Step up to the skills challenge
With UK manufacturers continuing to report the welcome news of increasingly healthy order books and predicting further growth in production output for the months to come (according to latest figures from the CBI, the self-styled voice of ...
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09/02/2011
Training for tomorrow
When times get tough, tough cuts follow, with training and continuing professional development suffering, too. But will that wreak long-term irreparable damage? Brian Wall reports
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09/02/2011
Get stuck in for the Big Society
Engineers of all stripes might have been forgiven for raising an eyebrow at the close of last year, as the coalition government launched its nattily named Growth Review Framework for Advanced Manufacturing.
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07/06/2010
Engineering the national interest
So, with a new coalition government at the helm, what do our political masters (or is that now servants) have in store for the UK's future? And how exactly is that likely to stack up against the country's requirements, as identified ...
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01/03/2010
Now is the time for action
Life-long learning' used to be the term; now it's 'continuing professional development' (CPD). What's in a name? Both emphasise the importance of continuously enhancing our knowledge throughout our careers.
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