The Havelock North High School/Edges Art Framers Link
The teacher's perspective – Jeff Arnold
A student presenting his solution to the client
Jeff Arnold has long been an advocate of working with the community, and sees the benefits of industry links for both students and business, and for himself as a teacher.
His students get an insight into the world beyond the classroom, and an understanding of the relevance of what he is teaching. Students can see the processes businesses use, both in design and other areas, how staff specialise in certain areas, and the way businesses talk to stakeholders and sort out the key factors – all of which are directly related to what they are doing in their school technology. Experiencing these relationships, and being able to examine a company's technological practice as a case study is the most important aspect, but the Year 13 students are also able to use this to work towards Technology Achievement Standard 3.6
"Having a client outside of school that students are accountable to is a huge benefit for them; it puts the pressure on to deliver, and to deliver a quality solution. It's a big step for a 17 year-old to have to make that sort of client link and to make it work. The business can also benefit from the ideas the student comes up with, if they decide to take some of those ideas and run with them."
He says that industry connections also gives him a broader picture of what's going on in industry and a chance to examine things he hasn't seen before.
Most of Jeff's links were made by approaching potential businesses informally. If there is an industry workplace he thinks would be good to visit, he will ring up to ask if his class can come to look at what the company does and how it does it. He also takes advantage of opportunities when they appear – after purchasing new equipment through a local business Trade Tools, for example, Jeff asked if his class could visit some production engineering sites related to that business.
Jeff and Sue
Jeff generally makes different links each year, in part because it's good for him to see a range of different products and skills but also because he doesn't want to overload any one business, going to the same place each year and doing the same thing, although he feels that, if needed, he could go back to those companies again.
Jeff hasn't experienced any problems in making the links. "Businesses are generally very obliging, but if they turn you down, then that's just that”. When he asks a company to be a client, he is very aware that 'time is money' and the importance of using their time wisely, particularly when linking with smaller businesses.
He has also used support organisations to access technologists. Futureintech, for example, helped arrange a mechanical engineer to come and talk to his three Level 3 classes about the types of work he does and how he got into engineering.
Jeff concludes that linking with an enterprise has benefits for the local business community as well and that, when they act as the clients, companies enjoy the positive feedback the students provide. Some businesses have taken on students from his class as apprentices, further underlining the local employment opportunities to students.
