Good evening,
I'm not entirely sure if this is the best place to turn to, or even if it's appropriate for me to bring this to IMechE, but you're all about the future and forward thinking, so here goes.

I am an apprentice machinist working in West Sussex and enrolled at Chichester college. The course I am on comprises several qualifications, the two main ones are a City and Guilds and an NVQ, both level 3.

I'm beginning to get incredibly frustrated bythe course I'm on. Specifically the NVQ portion. So much of the content iswoefully outdated and there are still questions related to the proper care ofmagnetic and paper punch tapes! Today, I found I had to show how I pre-set mytools using tool setting jigs and fixtures, and enter the lengths into theprogram. My machine is from 1986, and even then an automatic tool setter wasan optional extra. They are standard on nearly all machines at this point, I think. I don't feel as though the men who wrote this qualification have even looked at a machinetool for 30 years.

It's quite honestly useless. Several of thequestions are repeated across multiple units. Many of the questions have nobearing on modern engineering practices and suggest that you do things such asfully shutting down the machine just to change a broken insert. For many of thequestions, when they don't apply to my workplace, or reality, I've been advisedto lie instead of explaining why it's not relevant. I'm constantly having towrite answers about document control as well, including how to properly storedrawings after the work is finished, as if there were only one physical copy. I print out a drawing before I start a job, and once I'm finished, as far is I'm concerned, they're stored inthe bin. This is just more evidence that shows how far out of touchthis qualification is, suggesting that there are single physical copies ofdrawings. There are even several obvious mistakes as well, such as being asked to show that you have ensured that the spindle is clear of the work-piece before starting the spindle. This is a perfectly legitimate question, if it were referring to milling operations. This was found on a lathe specific unit. If anyone can explain how this could be possible on a 2-axis lathe, I'm more than willing to listen. The work is also a constantly implying that apprentices are incapable of being competent. With questions suggesting that they need to be in perpetual contact with someone else and must ask for help for everything. One section going so far as asking for proof that you, at all times, notify someone of every single modification to a program. I'm all for encouraging apprentices to ask for help when they need it, but to be required to rely on someone else at all times will not produce forward thinkers an innovators. Below I've included a picture of one of thequestions.

 As you can see, there are 3 options fordecades old methods, and only one for what is now the standard method. It alsodoesn't cover any other modern method such as using a USB stick. Not only that, butmost modern machines could easily have more than enough storage to hold more programs than10 men could write in 40 years.  And another image:

 "Explain how to handle and store programtapes and disks safely and correctly, away from contaminants andelectromagnetic sources."

This is totally irrelevant, and has been since the 80s.

Another question: "Explain how to handleand store cutting tools, and verified tapes and programs, safely andcorrectly."

Clearly working on the assumption that peoplestill use tape and HSS tools in CNC machines in 2019.
"Describe the advantages of using pre-settooling and how to set the tooling using setting jigs/fixtures"

Totally useless and irrelevant question, asI've mentioned before, any machine produced in the last 20 years will almost certainly have anautomatic tool setter. I've never even heard of a tool setting jig, let alone used one.

I can say, with considerable confidence, that I haven't learned a single thing from college, except maybe advanced methods of how to BS my way through paperwork.  I truly believe that the NVQ portion of this course is utterly worthless. If I were an employer and saw this qualification on a CV, I'd throw it in the bin.

In 2019 it is unfathomable that apprentice engineers are being taught methods that are not only outdated today, but have been for decades. In an industry that is evolving and changing every single day, new entrants need to be introduced, not only to the basic principles and building blocks, but they need to be taught new methods, so that they're prepared for industry work. They need to be taught the concept that engineering is pushing forwards with every second that passes, and that they can be a part of that push. They do not need to be taught how to care for paper punch tape that has been old news for 30 years. They need to learn about carbide insert tooling, chip control, how and when to talk with a tooling tech, and how to deal with chatter. They need to learn that it's OK to try to optimise operations, push the limits of tooling to improve cycle times, and they need to learn that they are going to be the future, the driving force behind all the innovations and advancements that are propelling humankind towards previously inconceivable feats, like colonising Mars!

Apprentices are the future. They need to stop being forced into the past.

I hope someone can help.

Matthew Mitchell