ENGINEERING stars of the future are being nurtured as part of a new drive to promote the sector to young people.
Go Ahead Training has teamed up with RTC North to deliver a series of engineering programmes in schools across Teesside and County Durham.
The partnership is an important element of Go Ahead Training’s agenda to ensure companies within the manufacturing industry have a deep talent pool to access.
The region’s industrial sectors are undergoing a major revival as the drive to ‘re-shore’ continues, however there is a lack of talented young people with the skills and attitudes required by employers to help the North East capitalise on its strengths within manufacturing and engineering.
Dave Spensley, Managing Director of Go Ahead Training, said: “If we’re to encourage more young people to pursue careers in engineering we have to make the industry more appealing to them. The only way to do that is to get out into schools and show them what engineering is and this partnership with RTC North will enable us to do that.”
RTC North, one of Europe’s leading technology transfer companies, is working with Go Ahead Training to deliver engineering programmes to schools on Teesside.
Carol Harrison, STEM Contract Manager, said: “Thousands of young people from the North East leave school, college and university every year with absolutely no direction in life. They are not aware of the global opportunities North East organisations can offer them if they study STEM subjects at higher levels.”
Go Ahead training will provide a platform where education and industry can come together so that both sides will be better informed.
The team will initially work with schools and colleges within the County Durham and Teesside areas and has two main programmes of delivery:
- VEX IQ Robotics
- Enterprise Programme
Dave Spensley added: “Employers are crying out for talented young people who can come into their business and grow. Our manufacturing and engineering sectors do have an ageing workforce so its vital that if they’re to continue to grow they have readymade replacements for those workers who reach retirement age.
“We are confident Go Ahead Training is exactly what the region needs and will become the ‘go to’ organisation for employers who want to attract young people who they can train and invest in as the engineers and manufacturers of the future.”
