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NSC Home Page > EUAS Contents > Comparisons with other industries and sectors
INDUSTRY
Comparisons with other industries and sectors
In order to gauge the educational work undertaken by the aggregates industry in a wider context and possibly learn from the examples of others, the efforts of various industries and sector are now briefly considered.
Other Extractive Industries
Traditionally the cement industry has been particularly proactive in the education field. The Cement and Concrete Association (now succeeded by the British Cement Association) produced high quality posters describing the production and uses of cement, a slide kit and informative booklets on the history of the industry. Most of the small number of operators produced either corporate or site based booklets, usually of very high quality. Educational visits to most works have been a significant feature of the industry for at least 20-30 years. An admirable educational initiative was developed at Claydon Works, Suffolk (now closed) which was heavily supported by the company's suppliers and was particularly innovatory in forging links with schools overseas, related to other plants in the same group. More recently, the same company, now part of Lafarge plc, has established an educational centre at its Hope Works which has developed close links with a National Park Study Centre in the same village. Many works are engaged in work experience placements, visits to schools by company staff, visits by university students, sandwich courses (particularly for engineering students) apprenticeship schemes, and in one case mentoring with a local school. At one large cement works in Sweden, tours are available to the public on every Monday throughout summer season and alongside a main road overlooking the quarry, a lay-by has been created, complete with viewpoint panels.The opencast coal industry developed teaching materials with the Earth Science Teachers' Association, frequently hosts educational visits to sites. The latter mainly concentrate on geology and restoration measures.
Many quarries in the building stone sector are willing to accept educational visits from schools, building college and architectural students. In general the small size of both companies and producing units, does not lend itself to major initiatives. However a number of companies have run, attempted to establish or are planning visitor or educational centres. By far the most significant are a number based on the slate industry in north, mid and west Wales, the Lake District and Cornwall; these are now significant tourist attractions in their own right. Other initiatives include sites in west and south Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Dorset. Although the Stone Federation GB is not engaged in any direct work with schools, it is involved in craft training, promoting stone to architects and architectural students, in particular, by a series of regional roadshows and through the Standing Joint Committee on Natural Stones, the 'use of stone' courses. There are also various activities on Portland, in conjunction with Hanson and Albion Stone; these have educational and training aspects and particularly focus upon the use of Portland Stone for sculpting. One interesting Hanson scheme on the island involves young offenders and prisoners being given placements in the stone works.
The Symonds Report on building stone produced recently for the ODPM notes that quarries in the Portland/Purbeck area attract c500/600 students annually on field trips. In addition, the designation of that particular area as a World Heritage Site, is likely to increase this number. Symonds (p99), referring to this sector of the industry in general also points to the exceptional educational opportunities for education about biological, geological and even cultural conservation and about the quarrying industry itself. It goes on to remark that this potential is not always appreciated by all operators or all planners.
Hanson and Ibstock , the main players in the brickmaking industry both welcome educational groups to their works. Hanson combine their schools outreach with that for aggregates (see Appendix 14). The china clay industry were instrumental in setting up the Wheal Martyn China Clay Museum, near St Austell; apart from extensive historical material, visitors can take a path which leads to a viewpoint over an active china clay pit. (ironically, visitor numbers have declined severely, following road renumbering, in part to accommodate the Eden Project).
Other Industries
Many other industries and work sites offer educational links of various types. The two other major sectors, which appear to be most appropriate for comparison, are the chemical industry and agriculture. Both have parallels with the aggregates industry, farming being rurally based and chemicals in its high levels of both safety consciousness and capital investment. Both are involved in bulk handling and face challenging public image issues and are experiencing significant difficulties in recruitment. These are considered to be more closely allied to aggregates than say metallurgical or hydrocarbons, where budgets are generally much higher and individual production units differ more significantly.Agriculture
Farming, being a rurally and resource-based industry, exhibits a number of parallels with quarrying. For example in terms of impact upon the countryside, recruitment, relatively poor public awareness, major involvement in bulk handling/processing/transport, wholesale land/resource management. There are particular health and safety issues (in relation to machinery, hygiene and diseases).
The general policy of the farming industry is to increase public awareness and key means of achieving this include farm visits and dissemination of information to schools. In addition to materials support from the agrochemicals and various product sector trade organisations, there are a number of national initiatives. Two are summarised here.
FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) - comprises a group of c.50 partners (e.g. including the Agricultural Industries' Confederation, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and National Trust). There is considerable emphasis on health and safety (with input from RoSPA and cross reference to HSE/DfES guidance), a risk assessment framework, a downloadable H&S pack, training for teachers, advice for farmers, together with a network of national and regional contacts. FACE also conduct research into countryside issues and perception studies. As far as could be ascertained, although quarrying is a major countryside industry, FACE makes no significant references to this sector. A database for farms to visit is available on-line at www.farmsforteachers.org.uk. Farms for Teachers is a member organisation of FACE.
The National Farmers Union actively encourages members to promote a wider and better understanding of their industry and in particular dissemination of information and experiences to school children. It supports FACE, Farms for Schools, the Friendly Farm Club, provides information about careers in farming and links to the major agricultural colleges.
'Countryside Live' is an annual event at Syon Park in West London which attracts 4,000 participants to learn about the countryside in a National Curriculum context. It is strongly supported by FACE members and is co-ordinated by the Countryside Foundation for Education.
The Chemical Industry
The main co-ordinating body is the Chemical Industry Education Centre (CEIC), set up by the Chemical Industry Association and based at the University of York. It is supported by the Salters' Institute for Industrial Chemistry, founded by the Salters' Company, (a London livery company).
The aim of the CEIC is to support both educators (particularly schools), and industrialists, through advice, a consultancy service, a resource centre, training, curriculum materials (including radical syllabus development) and promotion of education/industry links. Curriculum material produced aims to cater for all UK school students, presenting environmental issues in balanced, interactive and stimulating way, covering the application of science and technology in industry.
Apart from some of the very large sites (with well established educational services), relatively few units are able or prepared to accommodate pupils under the age of ten. On a random count, only about a fifth of plants within a schools scheme could host visits of more than twenty pupils at a time.
Further information is given at: www.york.ac.uk/org/ciec