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Read edition 3 of the Vale Business club newsletter

Simply click onto the link to access our downloadable newsletter - Vale Business Club newsletter March 08  

The Defence Training Academy – a commitment to innovation and excellence which will make St Athan proud

Of the thousands of young men and women who will be coming to St Athan to train in such vital skills as communications, aeronautical and electro-mechanical engineering, the skills that they learn and hone at the Defence Training Academy (DTA) will be of immediate importance to their role in the UK’s Armed Forces. But beyond their time as servicemen and women they will eventually move on to develop careers in the civilian employment marketplace.

Whatever corner of the globe they find themselves in, or whatever they might be confronted with, the training provided to the future servicemen and women at St Athan will massively underpin operational capability. And then, beyond their time in the Forces these young people will also find their civilian career prospects enhanced. It is worth reflecting that even today, 70% of those leaving the services are in employment within 1 month, and 94% within 6 months.

The Metrix vision for St Athan is that we will significantly better these statistics. Indeed, we will have some of the best resources on hand to make it happen.

The fact that the DTA will produce men and women with valuable skills which are highly prized in both the military and civilian world is of course highly desirable. However, the real excitement of the DTA is that it has the very real potential to become a model for training in this country. How do we intend to do this? In short, by ensuring that we are always at the leading edge of training delivery technology and by motivating and inspiring young learners. The DTA will be the antithesis of the ‘chalk and talk’ classroom environment that so many of us have grown up, and arguably, grown disaffected with.

The DTA promises to breathe life into the classroom of the future model which has for many years now been anticipated by futurologists and thought leaders in the education community. Implementing new technology into the facility for teaching purposes is a major priority for Metrix. DTA classrooms will incorporate e-learning, while training courses will be recorded and web cast on the internet. Some training material may even be conveyed to trainees’ mobile devices in order to facilitate further study outside of the classroom. Video and projection equipment will be installed in classrooms as well.

Most importantly Metrix’s commitment to a wholly new training system provides greater flexibility to pass better trainees faster through to front line commands. Combined with training conducted in a joint environment, it will improve the British Armed Forces' ability to respond readily to changing requirements.

The Academy is an exciting venture and it is the firm belief of Metrix and the MoD that St Athan will become, we believe, an educational and training model which will ultimately produce, in the words of Sandy Leitch in his report, Leitch Review of Skills, “... a world leadership in skills which will enable the UK to compete with the best in the world.”

- Paul Swinscoe, Raytheon and Metrix Consortium

Paul Swinscoe of Raytheon gave a presentation to the Vale Business Club on Thursday 24th April, 2008. The presentation, entitled’ The Defence Training Academy – Commitment To Innovation: Making The Right Choice With Technology’, in which he explored his company’s commitment to technology development in order to continuously evolve and improve training at the Defence Training Academy.

Please visit our events page to find out details of forthcoming club meetings for 2008.

For further information on how you can join the very successful and growing Vale Business Club please email Joanne Roberts, or telephone 0870 950 90 90. Information about membership rates may be accessed by clicking onto the benefits page.