News & Views

The factor most likely to propel a young person towards a career in manufacturing or engineering is the influence of a family member. But not far behind come the teachers who inspire fascination with technology, science and the world of making things.

Of the 107 people in our survey, 17 highlight the special role that secondary school teachers played in their career choices. For instance, Lydia Cordice - who works at the historic Cadbury chocolate factory in Birmingham – singles out Helen Lindsay-Clark, a teacher at Wycombe High School, for giving her the idea of studying for a degree linked to the food industry and then perhaps working in this sector.

“She opened my eyes to what this branch of manufacturing was all about,” says Cordice. “My teacher was enthusiastic and inspiring. She stood out from most of the other teachers who had minimal or no experience of industry and could say little about it.” After a degree in food science and nutrition at the University of Leeds, Cordice joined the US food group Mondelez, where she is a sourcing manager.

Hayley Maynard says that in Vandra Carter she had a “fabulous” design and technology teacher at Colyton Grammar School in Devon. “She introduced me to product design and opened my eyes to the possibilities beyond architecture and fine art. Without her, I would not be doing the work I love," says Maynard, who, after a degree in product design, works at design consultancy Kinneir Dufort in Bristol.

Had it not been for an outstanding teacher, Avese Umar may well have failed to discover a calling for chemistry. While at Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester, Umar was impressed by “an inspiring chemistry teacher who made the subject come alive”. He says of Adam Mashater: “His teaching style, devotion to the teaching and his genuine interest in chemistry made the subject stand out.” A few years later, his teacher’s ideas led Umar into his current job as laboratory technologist at HMG Paints, which he joined as an apprentice in 2016.

The key educators for people moving into manufacturing are not always involved in science and technology. Chris Lock says he “fell in love” with 3D printing through the influence of an art teacher at Bishop’s Stortford College in Hertfordshire. Now working as a rapid prototyping technician at Complete Fabrication, a company near Cambridge, Lock says Richard Honey “was a hands-on teacher” who “advocated both using modern technology and being creative”.

Katie Howard says of her job developing gyroscopes and other navigational aids for Silicon Sensing, a multinational manufacturer with a UK base in Plymouth: “It's fascinating to work with a range of companies with different needs. I could be working with a company making aircraft in the morning before switching to a different application for tractors in the afternoon.”

Howard says she owes her interest in technology to Paul Bearham, an electronics teacher at Brannel School near St Austell. “He was good at explaining concepts in simple terms, making engineering seem more attainable…. Mr Bearham's ideas stayed with me.”

Another person with a special memory of a teacher is Hong Kong-born Anthony Chow, who came to the UK aged 13 to go to boarding school at Stonyhurst College in Lancashire. A key influence was Rob Youlten, a maths teacher who organised the school’s engineering society. “Mr Youlten was a huge inspiration. He had a big interest in the practical side to maths. He encouraged his pupils to ask questions about how things work,” Chow says.

After a four-year master's degree in engineering at Cambridge University, Chow works at a train factory in Derby run by Alstom of France. He uses analytical tools to link the vast amount of information describing the design and production of rail equipment such as locomotives and carriages with the way the products are used once in service.

Tony Ryan, chief executive of the Design and Technology Association, which has a special interest in how the subject is taught in schools, says stories like these illustrate the key role often played by teachers of technical subjects.

“Design and technology teachers are crucial to stimulating an interest in careers in design, manufacturing, and engineering. The findings [from the Made Here Now survey] underline why the cuts in recent years in design and technology teaching in schools are of such concern. As the UK emerges from the health crisis, I hope we will see more recognition of the importance of young people gaining key technical skills that they can apply to jobs in later life.”

While the standard route for people to follow into work is to join an established company, two people in the survey decided against this route and set up their own business instead.

Rose Dyson, 21, is chief executive of cosmetics maker Pura, based in Barnsley, which she started at 15 while still at school. The spur for her venture was an unusual competition organised by her school which challenged pupils to think of a business they could start with just £25.

Pura manufactures relatively low-cost skin treatments using natural materials and without animal tests. The goods are sold in plastic-free packaging. “I'm glad I took the plunge,” she says. “Setting up the business has given me a great opportunity to be creative.”

Jack Cornes, who is 22, took a still more radical step than Dyson – by setting up a business in a sector that barely exists. Hausbots – where he is managing director and co-founder – makes a new type of robot for painting houses. Cornes describes painting and decorating as a “huge and fragmented industry with little or no innovation”.

After leaving school at 17, he decided against university, opting instead for a role at IBM selling software and services and then joining a drinks company as an account manager. “I had known for some time I wanted to be an entrepreneur. Getting a job [rather than continuing with education] was the best way to start.”

Of the 105 other people in the survey, eight besides Dyson and Cornes have senior management roles in their respective companies.

Fred Wray is operations manager at Digital Manufacturing Centre, based in Silverstone, near Northampton. Digital Manufacturing Centre is a new business set up by entrepreneur Kieron Salter to make automotive and industrial components, mainly using 3D printing. Before joining Salter’s business Wray gained a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield, later joining 3D printed parts maker 3T-AM.

Discussing his job – which he started in October 2020 – Wray says: “I’ve been given the chance to design and build from scratch a new factory with machines that are among the best in the world. It’s a fantastic opportunity which someone with my interests would find impossible to turn down.”

Working at a much older enterprise than Wray’s business is Tom Boyden, heavy foundry manager at William Cook, a Sheffield maker of steel castings started in 1840. When he left school at 17, Boyden chose not to go to university. “I wanted to get a job as I liked the idea of earning some money.”

After joining William Cook in 2011, Boyden, aged 28, was promoted to his management role in 2018. His predecessor had worked at William Cook for 46 years.

“It was thought unusual to have a man my age doing this job. In a team of 25 there was one person who was younger.” He adds: “I have had to prove myself. Most of the people I am working with are much more experienced. There are some strong-minded individuals among them.”