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Aviation History
1948
1948 - 0280.PDF
240 FLIGHT FEBRUARY 25TH, Technical Training at Farnborough Opening of R.A.E. Technical College by Sir Stafford Cripps " FUqht " pltot'i'tt The Chancellor of the Exchequer opens tht new college. Seated^. tQ R)^Mr.-H. I Stevens, Mr. W. G. A. Perring, Sir Archibald Rowlands, and Mr. R. D. Peggs. A LTHOUGH the technical training of youngsters at the l\ R.A.E. has been of prime interest since 1918, it is •L JL only quite recently that it has been possible to instal this specialized education in a building of its own and thus to justify the title of Technical College. During the war years it was felt that a much larger teaching and training function should be associated with an establish- ment covering such a wide field of research and develop- ment as the R.A.E. A Principal of considerable experience in the field of technical education was fust appointed to take charge of the work, and a staff of well-qualified lec- turers was built up. The senior scientific and technical staff of the Establishment gladly assisted by serving on one or other of the committees set up to guide the work of the College in relation to the known requirements of the research departments. The present scheme, which is roughly four years old, caters for Engineering Apprentices, Craft Apprentices, Scientific Assistants, Drawing Office Tracers and Junior Clerks. Engineering Apprentices are admitted after open- competitive examinations, aptitude tests and interview. The standard of examination is approximately between General School Certificate and Higher School Certificate. In his introductory speech, prior to declaring the College open. Sir Stafford Cripps said that as Minister of Aircraft Production he had learnt not only the amount but the value of the work done at the Royal Aircraft Establish- ment, and as an adjunct to that, realized the immense importance to the country of training young persons for the aeronautical industry. For the full development of the science o£ aeronautics, it had become necessary to consider an extended scheme of training, and the R.A.E. was the ideal place for such training. Not only were the very latest developments in aeronautical science the subject of study at the Establishment, but it was peopled with a staff as highly qualified as was to be found anywhere in the world. Sir Stafford also expressed the hope that the change in the location of the College (an ex-convent) would not entail the spiritual value of the education given there to be wholly displaced by material values. For, however great the im- portance of the material side of our lives, we should starve ourselves of all happiness if we neglected the things of the spirit. During the first year of the five-year course, Engineer- ing Apprentices are sorted into two groups, one of which goes forward for the R.A.E. Diploma and is expected to obtain the London Degree in Engineering at the end of the fourth vear. while the other proceeds, to Higher National Certificates in Mechanical and Production En*' gineering. Both of these groups spend their first years' wholly in the College, sharing their time between the draw-; ing office, training shop, lecture rooms and laboratories,' Their second and third years are spent in'the various work- shops of the Establishment, and their fourth and fifth years in the research departments and drawing offices. In these last years, there is a divergence in training in that the Diploma group is guided towards work in the research .departments while the National Certificate group goes to- wards design and development in the workshops and draw- ing offices. The second main group, the Craft Apprentices, also enter by competition but without a written examination. These entrants are intended primarily for craft work in the shops and, in some cases, for supervisory work. Their course of training also 'extends over five years, although only the most promising pursue a course of study in the fourth and fifth years. The first year of the course is spent, as in the case of the Engineering Apprentices, in the College workshops, drawing office and lecture rooms. Subse- quently, the apprentices receive general training in a num- ber of crafts and spend the last two years wholly on the, crafts of their choice. Concurrently with the shop tran/ ing, the class-room instruction leads to the appropria City and Guilds Certificates, which the best apprentices carry to the final stage. Living Conditions All apprentices receive wages throughout the period of training, and for those living away from home a substan- tial subsistence allowance is paid. The majority of these live in the hostel associated with the Establishment, where several blocks are set aside for their exclusive use, and they are in the charge of a resident master who is also a lecturer in the College. • Scientific Assistants are junior staff employed in the research departments of the. R.A.E., and to be accepted for employment, must have obtained a General School Certificate in appropriate subjects. They are given a four months' full-time course of training in the College on the techniques of experimentation, the use and care of various hand tools, the making and reading of simple drawings, and the appreciation of the methods of operation and uses of all kinds of measuring equipment. Following this course, they are allocated to departments in accordance with their natural aptitudes and the demands of the Establishment, bnt continue attendance at the College for three half-days
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