Working with Education
One of the biggest issues we have come across is that within schools/colleges there is little or no understanding/knowledge of the maritime industry, the role it plays in our lives, our economy and what career options it offers.
There is some excellent work being done by organisations such as MNTB, Skills for Energy and Seavision but we believe that the most effective way to get the message out is to have a coordinated plan of action with close ties between education and industry. The Mason Trust is already working will all of the aforementined organisations and using a series of half day sessions in schools to profile different sectors of the industry with the help of 'Industry Partners'. Our objective is to give an overview across the whole sector and then bring in a real industry partner, ideally locally based but with global opportunities for young people. To date the feedback has been excellent from both students and teachers alike and once there is an understanding in place of what the industry sector actually does we have a high proportion indicating that they are now interested in considering the industry as a career route.
Another format we use is the 'Masterclass', which is a whole day session where students are given a real scenario and a series of exercises to complete. The first such event was a Shipping Masterclass conducted at Flegg High School with another held at Sheringham High School. A variety of Industry partners were on hand to provide an overview of their specific aspects of the operation and guidance to the students who were trying to work out what to do with a disabled tanker which had injured crew onboard. The exercise showed the students the relevance of subjects they are studying - such as maths, languages, English, geography and I.T. It also helped to reinforce the importance of other skills such as teamwork, leadership and problem solving.
Our Educational Programme is ever evolving throughout Norfolk and Suffolk schools. If you feel your school would benefit from an Industry Partner presentation please contact us for further information.
We are also looking to increase our current Industry Partner database from the marine, offshore and renewable sectors to help support our work. If you would like to get involved then please contact us to find out more.