24 June 2011
Engineering sector must ‘wow’ more young people, warns Schools Minister
Schools Minister Nick Gibb met with industry experts at the Department for Education on Wednesday to discuss what can be done to encourage more young people into engineering.
Highlighting the Government's commitment to building a 'robust and advanced' manufacturing industry in the UK, Gibb warned that measures must be put in place to 'wow' young people into industry. "I hope the engineering sector can help us to encourage young people to continue to study maths and the sciences and inspire them to consider a rewarding and demanding career in engineering," he said.
Paul Jackson, ceo of EngineeringUK, maintained that more needs to be done to create excitement and revitalise young people's perception of engineering. Noting the importance of collaboration between engineering business and the public sector, he said the industry must act now to ensure the talent pipeline and adequately equip young people for the requirements of industry.
"Research carried out EngineeringUK suggests that young people's enthusiasm for science learning tends to dip in Year 8 - a time when decisions are usually made regarding future career paths," Jackson commented. "It's important, therefore, that we work to provide a route map that takes young people from early years learning right through to vocational training or their degree."
The roundtable was organised by EngineeringUK and included representatives from E.ON, BAE Systems, JCB, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford of Britain, the ODA, GKN, Rolls Royce, ICW UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Pearson UK.
Author
Laura Hopperton
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.engineeringuk.com/
Companies
Engineering UK
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