
The Army Elite Skills Team visited our college to turn our lecture hall into a teambuilding assault course and put our T Level Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing learners to the test!
This employer led session supported learners with skills needed on unit 17 of the T level course linked to problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork. The army were the perfect employers to come in and lead this masterclass, as nowhere is the importance of teamwork more apparent than in the military. Successful military operations need exceptional teamwork – it can be a matter of life or death.
To introduce the session, our visitors spoke about the varied career pathways as well as sharing key information about the apprenticeship and education opportunities that are available in the army. Following this talk, our learners took on three teamwork activities.
For the first activity learners were given two planks of wood and challenged to create a pathway from the first barrel to the end barrel, ensuring they didn’t touch the ground on the way. To further complicate the challenge, learners were only allowed a maximum of two people on a barrel at a time! Timas shared, "This challenge was very practical yet intense when it came to figuring it out mentally which was amplified by the time pressure and physicality.”
The second activity involved three cones and tyres numbered 1-6. Learners had to reorder all the tyres, so they stacked on the last cone in numerical order whilst ensuring not to put a bigger number on top of a smaller one.
The third challenge required learners to work in teams to repair a circuit. The circuit was made up of different tiles that served different functions. For this task learners had to incorporate their knowledge of circuits and engineering skills, whilst working under their group leader. Anya, who was appointed group leader for this task, shared “I was selected as team leader for my group, and I was able to effectively use my previous knowledge with circuits to reconstruct the existing circuit and I was able to demonstrate my teamwork skills and leadership skills through the role I was given.”
Thanks the Army Elite Skills Team for visiting our learners and giving them a taste of all the skills that applicable both in the army and on their T level course.