Addressing the education skills gap with BTEC Engineering

BTEC Nationals (RQF) Unit 6 - Microcontroller Systems for Engineers, addressing the skills gap

To help provide students with industry skills suitable for the workplace of the future, Pearson has included Unit 6: Microcontroller Systems for Engineers as a mandatory unit in the Extended Diploma within the 2016 BTEC Nationals in Engineering (RQF). Furthermore, industry leading Arm®-based technology can now be used as part of the delivery of this unit.

Arm processor designs have enabled intelligent computing in more than 145 billion chips to date and its technologies securely power products from smartphones to supercomputers.

Microcontrollers have many advantages: they are low-cost, small, have low power consumption, are readily available, and can be programmed to control and improve products and systems. Already used in numerous systems and products such as cars, wearable and health technology, and control systems in manufacturing, microcontrollers contain all the internal components of a computer on a single chip which runs a stored program to achieve the intended purpose. Their programs form an important part of the rapidly growing ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT); a network of billions of interconnected physical objects which is bringing the next information revolution with it.

Arm, like Pearson, is keen to narrow the skills gap between education and industry. The skills being taught in education are not always keeping pace with emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous cars, creating a ‘skills gap.’ The Arm Education team works with academic, education and industry partners to support technology innovation and talent development through computing and STEM education. You can find out more by visiting their website here.

Disclaimer: Pearson does not support any one supplier of microcontroller technology over any other listed in the specification.