GB Electronics Rugby Scorecard Project

Back in late 2020, we were introduced to a fantastic electronics & physics teacher, Chris Stabler, at Worthing College. A couple of his students had applied for roles at GB Electronics (UK) Ltd and they had such a wonderful enthusiasm and huge spark of interest in electronics and the industrial application thereof, that we had to find out who their teacher was. This made us realise that we had an opportunity to really engage with a local colleges to promote careers in technology, show the students what their studies could lead to and, importantly, that there were opportunities for cool tech jobs in small and medium sized companies in the south coast of West Sussex. We started small, by sponsoring their electronics lab (some equipment and a lovely logo!) and taking on an apprentice (with University of Chichester). Regular talks to the students followed, then GBE and Worthing College identified a great opportunity to collaborate further: giving students hands-on experience with real long-term projects and in this case an electronic rugby scoreboard. With Worthing College’s strong sporting background, it was a perfect fit to get students involved in practical electronics work. Since starting this project in 2022, every year this project has had over 10 students sign up and attend throughout the year (so that’s over 40 to date!). Every Thursday afternoon they have worked on the design, development and assembly of the scoreboard. The engagement has been amazing and lead to 3 degree apprentices joining GBE, with numerous other students inspired to sign up for tech degrees. Another huge benefit has been that each year, the new degree apprentice has been responsible for training the next cohort of students; what a fantastic way to develop presentation and coaching skills! It has naturally evolved into a more informal teaching environment where students can build valuable technical skills alongside important teamwork and communication skills. We’re now very close to completing the project and getting it installed outdoors, to celebrate this we held a rewards session last Thursday at Worthing College with games and pizza for the final Rugby Scoreboard club session where we presented a prize to one of the students working on the project. GBE is looking forward to continuing this strong relationship with Worthing College. We also want to thank Helena Thomas, Principle of Worthing College for facilitating this and her continued enthusiasm for the engagement. So, the question is, what will next years’ project be?