The UK engineering workforce is getting older and not being replaced quickly enough as they retire or leave the sector. Around 186,000 skilled new recruits will be needed each year until 2024.
The issue of ‘tacit knowledge transfer’ (learning know-how from existing experts) and skills retention is critical in key sectors of manufacturing. Enginuity will pilot with companies from the Aerospace industry the creation of a knowledge retention game platform to bridge these gaps.
The project will develop a gamified learning platform to capture and exchange best practice, informal and tacit knowledge and expertise from skilled workers – the things you traditionally learn by working alongside time-served engineers. This will enable companies to create their own games, appropriate to their individual workplace, to allow skills to be gained in context.
The primary audience will be level 3 and level 4 engineering staff working alongside those at high risk of leaving the sector. The demonstrator will enable scenario based ‘learning by doing’ supporting areas of high skills loss which are critical to sustaining and recovery in the industry. The pilot project will engage with 200 engineers from two major organisations (British Aerospace and GKN), as well as supply chain SMEs. It will use a BrightGame Aerospace skills retention game applied to potential level 4 ‘leavers’ capturing best practice and tacit expertise, and enabling sharing of key skills in maintenance and inspection.