In Steel and Computing the Rise of the Dip Tech Sandwich Generation: A Personal Perspective

By Valerie McBroom

This book is intended as a legacy of the experience of several years in science-based roles being initially challenged technically but in later years challenged and rewarded by leadership roles. This was amongst Sandwich educated colleagues who were motivated in part by themselves and partly by the community around them. Such is the nature of Sandwich Education both in terms of attitude and competence that it is a privilege to be part of this community of graduates.

The authors consider that the Sandwich initiative should be a vital steppingstone in the nation’s education. Therefore, it is recommended to the Department of Education and the Department of Industry and to young people contemplating the future direction of their education that they embrace Sandwich education.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Jun 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9781035802036

Valerie McBroom

Valerie and Neil both had two fathers. Each had their natural father and the other was Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister, who claimed we were the children of his White Hot Technological Revolution. And a revolution it turned out to be resulting in the concept of a Sandwich Education, spending prolonged periods of time in both college and industry. It enabled the rebirth of the polytechnics which morphed into Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATS) and eventually into universities in their own right. Our college, Battersea CAT became the University of Surrey, one of the best endowed universities in the country. We were both immensely fortunate in our education. Neil attended King Edward`s School, Birmingham where he was a prefect, and Valerie attended Streatham Hill and Clapham High School, part of the Girls’ Day School Trust. From school, Neil attended the Outward Bound School at Aberdovey and received an honours award.

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About the Authors

Valerie and Neil both had two fathers. Each had their natural father and the other was Harold Wilson, the Labour Prime Minister, who claimed we were the children of his White Hot Technological Revolution. And a revolution it turned out to be resulting in the concept of a Sandwich Education, spending prolonged periods of time in both college and industry. It enabled the rebirth of the polytechnics which morphed into Colleges of Advanced Technology (CATS) and eventually into universities in their own right. Our college, Battersea CAT became the University of Surrey, one of the best endowed universities in the country. We were both immensely fortunate in our education. Neil attended King Edward`s School, Birmingham where he was a prefect, and Valerie attended Streatham Hill and Clapham High School, part of the Girls’ Day School Trust. From school, Neil attended the Outward Bound School at Aberdovey and received an honours award.

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Neil McBroom and Valerie McBroom 2023

The right of Neil McBroom and Valerie McBroom to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035802029 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035802036 (ePub e-book)

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First Published 2023

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Author’s Note

This book is intended as a legacy of the experience of several years in science-based roles being initially challenged technically but in later years challenged and rewarded by leadership roles. This was amongst Sandwich educated colleagues who were motivated in part by themselves and partly by the community around them. Such is the nature of Sandwich Education both in terms of attitude and competence that it is a privilege to be part of this community of graduates.

Introduction

It was 1958 and the modern competitive world was beginning to demand from manufacturing economies such as the UK more and more innovation and productivity. Traditional values such as going to university, imbibing the theory and only then going out into industry to link up with the practice was the gentle paced journey that students travelled. It was no longer sustainable. So how to make the process more dynamic.

There were other factors. The Polytechnics up and down the Country were almost secondary schools which offered a late chance to absorb functional skills which were beneficial to employers. Battersea Polytechnic had two specialities. These were Hotel and Catering (London being a tourist destination) and Health Specialists (London having a large population). However, it needed a wider base of excellence to survive and more importantly, to prosper. The Wilson Government deserves credit for pioneering the Sandwich Course leading to the Diploma in Technology offered by upgrading the Polytechnics to the new Colleges of Advanced Technology. Battersea was particularly successful since it was staffed by the cream of scientists and engineers displaced from Europe by the 2nd world war. The challenge was to sell the concept to Industry which they did successfully. Our Dip Tech Sandwich Courses provided a solid grounding which led to and enabled progressive careers. It also gave confidence to embrace social opportunities. Valerie became Ladies Captain at Lisvane Tennis Club and Neil was Veterans Captain (and later also Veterans President) at Llanishen Golf Club. He also served for ten years as Treasurer of Llanishen Rotary Club.

Barriers to Progress

Staff working in businesses know that to make a profit you have to be able to sell a product for more than the cost of production and sales. It is rare to find plant managers who understand that to be a successful business you not only have to make more cash in sales than you spend on manufacture but you also have to adjust, and very often to discount, the value of your surplus by the rate at which your currency is devaluing in comparison with others. It is rare to find knowledge of discounted cash flow forecasting in manufacturing plants; it is usually confined to the board room and even here it can remain an unutilised tool. It needed modern sandwich education to meet modern times.

Another barrier to progress is the we’ve always done it this way syndrome. Sadly, the most productive and skilled workers in a plant are those with long experience; the draw back being that the experience has been within the framework of long-established methods. This inertia is very difficult to dislodge but an enterprise will not survive and progress unless it learns to adjust. And if you don’t adjust, your competitors will.

The Metallurgical Industry, scarred by the notion that it is metal hashing and bashing, was the industry in which our skills were initially deployed. Perversely, because of the high-end cost of re-investment and the cultural change which necessarily accompanies it, these were industries where the rate of change was slowest. A