Excellent Use Case for CEDIA NextGen - Targeting Future Talent for the Smart Home Industry

CEDIA, Baker Dearing, and UTC Join Forces

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust advances and informs high-quality, employer-led technical education and supports its delivery through England’s 44-strong program of University Technical Colleges (UTCs). The Trust works with UTCs – which are government-funded schools with a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) or creative media focus – major employers, political leaders, and the wider education sector to deliver the best outcomes for young people.

Recognizing the opportunity, CEDIA invited Baker Dearing representatives and UTC students to attend CEDIA Tech + Business Summits and ISE. This provided them with an introduction to the industry, to meet with CEDIA members, and get hands on with technology.

Ayeesha Bhamji, Project Coordinator at Baker Dearing, commented: “The benefit of the relationship between us and CEDIA is the connection with employers in the smart home industry. We have many students studying engineering or computer science, and CEDIA connects them with relevant employers.

Together, we align our efforts so CEDIA members can access skilled students, and we can provide our learners with valuable career pathways that they might not have even considered before. We plan to send more students to the next CEDIA Tech + Business Summits and ISE 2025, as the previous years’ experiences were incredibly valuable for them.”

Introducing CEDIA Nextgen Tech Kits

As part of this collaboration, CEDIA worked with James Ratcliffe, CEDIA Board Member and Managing Director of Homeplay, to create NextGen Tech Kits. These kits allow students hands-on experience with some of the tech that the industry works with on a daily basis.

Thanks to the support of CEDIA trade supplier members who kindly contributed over £10,000 worth of equipment, users are able to push a doorbell and hear it play a tune through the speaker, speak to a virtual assistant for the blind to close, or push a button on a keypad for the lighting to switch on. These kits are getting the students excited by the prospect of a career in the industry.

UTC Derby Pride Park

In November 2024, CEDIA visited UTC Derby Pride Park where the team spoke to the students to generate excitement about the smart home industry and encourage them to consider the career opportunities that are available within this market.

Ahead of the talk, the students had six weeks to play around with the NextGen Tech Kits, which enabled them to engage actively during the session.

“We were fortunate enough to have the NextGen Kits for over a month, which provided us with the opportunity for existing students to use them as part of the Engineering Programmable Systems course, and for us to use the kits during our open morning for over 800 prospective students and parents,” comments Kerry Warburton | Careers Lead & Employer Engagement Co-Ordinator at UTC Derby Pride Park. “The kits allowed our students to familiarize themselves with what smart technology is, but to also delve deeper and consider the technology that is behind these products. This led us to the conversation about whether they see this as a future career pathway and which area they are interested – design, programming, or installation. Our students are very inquisitive, and these kits really piqued their interest into the world of smart home technology.”

This initiative aims to make a lasting impact. The next UTC that is interested in receiving the NextGen Tech Kits is Scarborough University Technical College. With this and 42 other schools to visit, CEDIA will be looking to engage with local members to support this initiative.