An investigation into mathematical skills requirements for engineering apprenticeship: Action research in the advanced manufacturing course

Abstract

The City and Guilds qualification is an integral part of the UK vocational qualification framework. The Advanced and Higher apprenticeship is the backbone of vocational qualification. The new generation of engineers gets trained in the Further Education colleges by pursuing Level 3 vocational qualification after completing the secondary education. Mathematics plays an essential role within the education and engineering profession, used as an investigation tool in current research. This study investigates the impact of various assessments, including diagnostic assessments conducted before starting a training program. This research is a first attempt to set up the framework through the action research methodology to identify the underpinning issues that affect the students' performance in the apprenticeship program. Level 3 advanced engineering apprenticeship students were assigned generic tasks to solve simple engineering math problems with three categories of questions, "General," "Mixed," and "Subject-specific" type, in two-phase tests. The results revealed that general math questions were familiar to the participants while more industry-specific questions took longer or some learners failed to resolve them. Based on the results obtained, it is identified that the specific engineering calculations are found to be difficult for students to solve, where the math application is not clearly taught as part of the general education in schools. Therefore, introducing these topics as “Masterclasses” before the actual apprenticeship training begins will benefit the learners throughout the education and engineering career until the national curriculum is updated.