Education and Skills
The BPF Education and Skills Committee was launched on the 27th January 2015 with the first meeting of the committee taking place at the BPF’s Offices in London.
Members of this committee come from all corners of BPF Membership including training providers, awarding organisations, plastics processors and raw material suppliers.
The Committees mission and remit were agreed at the first meeting of the committee and are laid out below…
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Vision
“To act as the authoritative reference point for assessing the UK plastics industry's future human resources and skills requirements and to promote the flow into the industry of personnel who either possess the appropriate skills or who have the potential to acquire them.”
Remit
"It will cover all issues connected with plastics in education (including primary, secondary and tertiary) the recruitment of staff into the Plastics Industry, the provision of training and the acquisition of appropriate skills.”
"It will liaise with industrial companies and groups both inside and outside the British Plastics Federation, government departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, educational establishments, government sponsored agencies, professional institutes and training providers.”
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Skills and Training Needs in the Plastics Industry
As is typical with various manufacturing industries, the plastics industry has a growing skills gap and ageing workforce; coupled with uncertainties around procurement post-Brexit, the Education and Skills committee is focused on delivering on the needs for skills and training within our sector. This includes focusing on developing new skills training for apprentices, as well as signposting to all the relevant training within our industry.
In 2016, we surveyed our members to get a deeper understanding of the skills and training issues at present, which included signalling that level 3 and 4 were very important for training of staff. Furthermore, issues around advanced courses and awareness of the industry were highlighted as barriers to recruiting new workers.
In 2019, the survey was conducted again (with slight amendments) to update the findings from the 2016 survey and gauge the plastics industries progress in addressing the skills gap. The numbers showed a high number of apprentices intake during 2019 and the Level 4 apprenticeship gap is still present but it is worth noting that the level 4 Engineering Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship – this standard is now approved for delivery.
Activities
Education and Skills is a varied and wide subject and some of the topics the committee focuses on are:
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Polymer Ambassador Scheme
This scheme run jointly by the BPF and Cogent skills intends to get as many professionals in the industry into schools and engaging with students. With the ongoing pressure on plastics, educating the public has become essential. The aim is to teach students about the exciting world of polymers and the wonderful properties they possess. Theese sessions help students understand the paths within science, engineering and manufacturing.
Polymer Apprentice of the Year Award
Once a year, the BPF jointly with the worshipful Horners Livery runs the Polymer Apprentice of the Year Awards (PAYA’s). The competition recognises the talented apprentices in the plastics industry for their hardwork and outstanding achievements. The award encourages and supports them in their career development. The winner is awarded £500 along with the ceremonial horn.
Case Studies - Apprentice Spotlight
The Apprentice Spotlight section within the case studies page highlights the excellent achievements that apprentices in the plastics industry have complete. As mentioned in the Skills and Education report above, more than half od board members started as apprentices wihtin their companies. The page includes one highlight per month.
Level 4 Apprenticeship Standard Development
The BPF has lead the development of a level 4 apprenticeship standard for member companies. A trailblazer group was created to aid the development. The standard is now live and students can now enrol onto the course.
The main resource used is the Olly's Cool Box of Plastics Kits which are used by the Polymer Ambassadors in classroom training sessions. Furhermore, PolymerZone contains hints and tips on running classroom training sessions, interactive pages to help kids learn about plastics along with lesson planning (SchoolZone) and a careers section to give insight into the wonderful careers within our industry (CareersZone). Finally, the BPF is working on developing a recycling kit which demonstrates how thermoplastics such as PP, PET and LDPE can be identified using a simple sink float test. The goal is to become a “Recycling Champion” by the end of the session.
BPF Education and Skills Vision 2019 - DOWNLOAD PDF (Members only)
Contact Information:
Chairperson: Jo Davis
Group Executive: Mohamed Elkhalifa
Email: [email protected]
