Saturday Clubs engineer future career choices

Twenty one students from six Secondary Schools in Havering have spent their Saturdays this year learning a range of engineering skills thanks to the Gateway to Skills Saturday Club at Havering College of Further and Higher Education. This season’s club ended after a 20-week programme with a Celebration event for the Clubbers, their parents and local VIPs. 

The Saturday Clubs aim to give year 10 students an insight into career possibilities and the skills required by the engineering sector. This season, students have tried their hand at skills such as:

·         electrical installation, wiring from a domestic fuse box to electrical switches and sockets and then making their own extension lead.

·         sheet metal skills, making their own tool box

·         machining skills, using a lathe to manufacture from drawings their own car windscreen scraper

·         electronics, making an electronic buggy to race in the car park at the college on the final day. 

Students were presented with a certificate of attendance by the Finance Director of  Havering College, David Lambert. The college also presented each Saturday Club graduate with a special gift of a tool kit.

Debbie Wren, Gateway to Skills Project Manager at CEME, said: “Once again our students have enjoyed a really successful Saturday Club which will help them to understand what working in the electrical, electronic and mechanical engineering field is all about. Now they can make informed choices about their future careers. We’re delighted to have worked with HaveringCollege once again to deliver this programme.”

More than 500 students have attended Saturday Clubs run by Gateway to Skills since they were set up some seven years ago. Many participants have gone on to careers in the sector, including apprenticeships with local companies. The Saturday Club is jointly funded by Havering College of Further and Higher Education and Gateway to Skills via grant from the London Development Agency. Contributions toward the cost of Saturday Clubs are also sought from the schools to aid the purchase of safety footwear, which with their warehouse coats the students are allowed to keep. 

To find out more about future Saturday Clubs, contact Debbie Wren at Gateway to Skills on 020 8596 7032.