Technology Supplies feature in The Parliamentary Review

We are pleased to announce that Technology Supplies has been featured as a Specialist Representative in the Parliamentary Review2017/2018 under the Manufacturing & Services category.

The Parliamentary Review combines political content and demonstrates how sector leaders have responded to the challenges they face in their economic environment and political landscape.

Technology Supplies is the leading supplier of Design and Technology and Engineering products and services to education worldwide. Established in 1986, we now work with over 5,500 secondary schools and colleges, and every year 4.5 million students are taught using our equipment and consumables.

Technology Supplies was the first in the UK to introduce laser cutting machines to education in the early 2000s. Subsequently, we also became a leader in the provision of 3D printers and resources for educational institutions.

In addition, Technology Supplies focuses on the development of state-of-the-art “makerspaces” in the world’s leading international schools for the provision of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

We firmly believe at Technology Supplies that STEM education is of paramount importance to the success of STEM industries and the wider UK economy. Over the last 10 years there has been a decline in the number of students taking design and technology at school, and the subject has seen the greatest decline across all the STEM subjects. However, we want to help turn this around, as it provides the most relevant skills for the modern STEM workforce, which requires 1.3million workers a year up until 2022 in STEM industries.

In the Parliamentary Review publication we talk about our involvement in the development of over half of the UK’s university technical colleges (UTC), and how these were each developed on their individual requirements. We also showcase not only the brand new installations we do, but also revamps of workshops such as the Dyson School of Design Engineering at Imperial College in London, whose second phase development will be one of over 50 major projects for us this year.

Although we are still very active in UK schools, with the current budget constraints on the education sector, we now see a third of our revenue coming from international independent counterparts, as their desire to drive innovation and a modern approach to STEM learning becomes a flagship mindset within their school.

The demand for innovative spaces in educational settings is growing on the success of those we have already installed. One example is the work we did at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore to provide a future-focused design and manufacturing space to develop 21st century skills, yet maintain practicalities and flexibility. We continue also to supply consumables and additional tooling to all those schools.

In Lord Pickles’ and Lord Blunkett’s words; we hope this story seeks to inspire and challenge all who read it.