Children from Tanfield Lea Community Primary School donned lab coats and hairnets when they had the rare opportunity to get a first hand view of manufacturing on a recent trip to SONE Products Ltd (SONE) in Stanley.
The trip, which was organised by SONE, forms part of the nationwide Primary Engineer Programme, an initiative aimed at encouraging more young people to consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) related professions.
Before embarking on a tour of SONE’s highly automated production facility, the children at Key Stage 2 level spent time with engineering coordinator John Lonsdale and improvement engineer Stuart Porter, learning about engineering and what an engineer does.
Under the Primary Engineer programme, the children will take part in a competition to make a car using various components, some of which they will have to manufacture themselves. Further to hosting this site visit SONE will support the school throughout the project by providing some of the materials to make the car. Also, SONE’s Stuart Porter will visit the school several times to help the children to design and build the car.
Speaking about SONE’s support for the school and the Primary Engineer project, Key Stage 2 teacher Claire Brown said: “This project is a great way to get the children to use STEM subjects in a fun way without them even realising they are doing it. SONE’s support is invaluable, as it provides us with many opportunities to give the children a much greater understanding of manufacturing and engineering as well as an insight into the wide variety of jobs that are available. The class is very excited and really looking forward to making the car. Fingers crossed, we may even win!”
SONE has a strong reputation for investing heavily in training and the company is keen to take the message to a younger audience that there are excellent job opportunities in manufacturing. Adding his thoughts on the company’s involvement in the Primary Engineer Programme, commercial manager, Trevor Siddoway said:
“SONE was only too pleased to get on board with this latest initiative. It is important as a local business that we link up with schools and provide them with the external support they need to allow them to get involved with such projects. Additionally, anything we can do to help make maths, science and technology fun for the children is not only good for their development but also manufacturing as a whole and a step towards raising the aspirations of the next generation.“
