Developing Excellence sessions with Siemens
As part of our Developing Excellence series, we spoke with Andy Dyer, a product manager from Siemens, the largest industrial manufacturing organisation in Europe and a delivery partner in the ISEiW Developing Excellence workshops. Andy is heavily involved with apprentices in his current role, whether that be through mentoring or having students in on placements. He has a particular understanding of this career route as it was how he first entered the company himself. Andy delivered the Electrical installation workshop from the portfolio of Developing Excellence sessions we were providing for Tutors across Wales.
The Developing Excellence workshop targeted staff around Wales to increase their knowledge regarding the Siemens logo equipment and programming within Electrical Installation. This allowed staff to further their knowledge and capabilities and share this with their students. This also supported staff to train their learners ready for WorldSkills UK competitions where the Siemens Logo kit is used within the Electrical Installation competitions.
The new Logo controller is the smallest and simplest in Siemens’ portfolio, which according to Andy is a good entry point and introduction to the industry for those wishing to learn new skills. The Logo is also a particularly useful tool for learning, as it is easy to understand and apply normal thinking to, rather than diving into high level programming, making it ideal for newer learners.
“At Siemens we look at ourselves as an innovator within the marketplace, we’ve been looking at cloud concepts for a number of years now, and our product portfolio has been designed around this concept of future proofing machines.” (Andy Dyer, Product Manager at Siemens)
Andy stressed the importance of equipping students for the future of the engineering and IT industries, as he says we are currently in a 4th industrial revolution, where industry is looking to digitalise our technology. While there have been previous industrial revolutions, electrification and automation are two that are less well known, but Andy maintains this is the direction of the industry, and that it is crucial students are prepared for the future. Electrification saw plants using electrical energy to run motors and machinery, then automation marked the advent of programmable machinery that ceased the need for manual machine operation. The industry’s next stage is taking the data and information from those machines, and using it to maximise productivity, to streamline processes in order to produce more in shorter time for less cost.
Outlining the benefits to those attending an ISEiW Developing Excellence workshop, Andy highlighted that if for nothing else it offers the opportunity for new education, at no cost to attendees, as well as an introduction to new skills that will be crucial moving forward in the industry. Having direct contact with an expert from the manufacturer of a key training device is an added bonus, a useful link for any teacher or training provider.
“It’s win-win-win from every aspect, I can see no negatives, which is why I’ve always been involved with apprentices, colleges, and schools, because I see nothing but benefit from it.” (Andy Dyer, Product Manager at Siemens)
Andy is also very positive about the advantages of competing in skills competitions;
"It gives an element of understanding of how everything that is taught in schools and colleges works in real world contexts. Until students are in a job, it’s difficult for them to gain experience of working to deadlines, reworking designs from testing etc, and skills competitions provide a great platform for that experience."
To revisit the Siemens Logo - Electrical Installation session that was delivered by Andy please visit the ISEiW Developing Excellence platform by clicking here.
Siemens offer work experience placements to those in local schools and colleges, as well as apprenticeship placements for those aged 18+. Many of those on the apprenticeship scheme are offered the opportunity to progress into permanent roles within the company upon completion of their placements. Find out more about Siemens’ placement opportunities here: https://new.siemens.com/global/en/company/jobs/search-careers/siemens-professional-education.html