Loughborough University students recently visited Bridgwater College’s Construction Skills and Innovation Centre, as part of an Action Based Training programme.
Action Based Training is run as part of Bridgwater College’s Cannington Activity Centre, and the 16 Loughborough University students, who are studying to become Quantity Surveyors, Construction Managers and Surveyors, spent four days living on-site, working on a village rescue simulation.
The Loughborough undergraduates were challenged with constructing an access road, building a bridge and laying a water pipe to supply running water to a simulated cut off village. The team were provided with equipment, materials, plant and drivers, with the rest left up to the project team to manage the build. The programme also included a site visit to Hinkley Point C, the site of EDF’s proposed new nuclear power station.
On the final day, all that was left was to compact the road surface, fix the guard rails to the crossing, make the final connections to the water bore hole and be the first person to take a vehicle over the newly built bridge. There was even time in the programme for the students to get a feel for driving the machines themselves, under the supervision of Bridgwater College Instructors.
Leon Troake, Activity Centre Manager said,
“This is the first joint project between Loughborough University and Bridgwater College, where aspiring civil engineers get hands on experience of running real life construction projects. We hope to build on the success of this programme and continue providing Action Based Training to benefit businesses through team building.”
Bruce Wright, Senior Tutor for the School of Civil and Building Engineering at Loughborough University said,
“I found the course very beneficial to the development of the students. As the course progressed their confidence grew in their own abilities and decision making skills. What made the course so effective was the skill and experience of the lecturers from the Bridgwater College Construction Skills and Innovation Centre. They set up and planned the event with careful attention to detail so it all ran according to plan. They expertly allowed the students to run the show and learn from their mistakes while keeping the project on track. They used a number of activities to develop the students’ team working and management skills. There was an effective summary at the end of each day led by the staff, which allowed the students to reflect and improve for the following day.”
If you would like more information about Action Based Training, please contact 01278 655066, email actionbasedtraining@bridgwater.ac.uk or visit www.actionbasedtraining.org.
