Engineers eye robots

With robotics predicted to be one of the world’s next growth areas, the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Bournemouth and Poole College are gave a number of apprentice IT specialists, systems engineers, control engineers, production system engineers and technologists an exciting opportunity to hone their skills at an expert class in building robots. The class, which took place on 23rd May, demonstrated the accessibility of robotics engineering, an area of training, which has traditionally been confined to hi-tech research units utilising costly equipment. The expert class at Bournemouth and Poole College focused on object orientated programming, utilising robots that could be quickly assembled and programmed by learners in the first two stages of the class. Once completed, they discovered if their robots made the grade by performing a series of practical tasks in a mini ‘Robot Wars’ session. Director of apprenticeships at the LSC, Stephen Gardner, said: “There is no doubt robots will become an integral part of tomorrow’s workplace. Already, robotics cuts across a staggeringly diverse cross-section of industries both in the UK and internationally. We recognise that there is an urgent need to invest in enhancing a similarly diverse skills base and equip tomorrow’s workforce for the development and application of robotic technology.”