NEJ Stevenson on Warwickshire Skills for Industry Porgramme Partners

Published 8th June 2017

We are delighted to be working with NEJ Stevenson, bespoke furniture maker and QEST Trustee, as industry partner for the Warwickshire Skills for Industry Programme.

Funded by Warwickshire County Council's Skills for Employment programme is funding the Design and Technology Association’s project with NEJ Stevenson. The aim of this programme is to bring real life skills from designing, manufacturing, engineering and other related industries into the classroom, to help inspire pupils to include D&T as one of their option subjects.

Design & Technology teachers from Etone College, The Nuneaton Academy and Nicholas Chamberlaine School attending a launch event on Tuesday 25^th April 2017 at NEJ Stevenson’s workshops. Experts from NEJ Stevenson demonstrated to the teachers how to bend and veneer wood and the process of using a vacuum bag.

The programme provides an opportunity for NEJ Stevenson to work closely with each school’s dedicated design and technology (D&T) teachers to support them in teaching pupils about the skills and tools needed to bend and veneer wood through a design and making perpetual calendar project.

NEJ Stevenson specialises in custom made furniture and bespoke architectural joinery. As cabinetmaker to The Queen and Royal Warrant holder, the company has developed a reputation for crafting some of the finest contemporary and heritage furniture available. From individual pieces to entire room interiors, NEJ Stevenson’s furniture can be found within luxurious private residences, historic buildings, places of worship and high-end retail spaces.

“Many young people do not know the full breadth of potential job opportunities in the design and creative industries, meaning the most talented individuals will only see these skills as a hobby and will chose a different career path,” explains Neil Stevenson, Managing Director and founder of NEJ Stevenson. “We are delighted to become the first official industry partners to the Skills for Industry Programme and cannot wait to give both teachers and pupils some practical, skills-based training, as well as an insight into our profession.”

“Etone College is looking forward to engaging with N.E.J. Stevenson Ltd, working with industry professionals on real life industrial problems through a process of designing and making. We are hoping that N.E.J. Stevenson will provide an industrial insight to our students to widen their understanding of designing and making opportunities beyond the classroom,” says Mrs Beasley, Etone College. “Our year 8 students are really excited and looking forward to starting the project. Industrial experience is at the heart of the 21st design technology curriculum as it develops the skills needed for industry”.

 “A chosen group of Year 8 pupils from The Nuneaton Academy are looking forward to working with N.E.J. Stevenson during their Resistant Materials Technology lesson for the summer term,” explains Simon Trout, Head of Design and Technology at The Nuneaton Academy. This project gives our pupils a unique opportunity to gain industrial insight and widen their understanding of industry related problems beyond the classroom.”