Skills Fair Showcases Opportunities For Young People In Engineering

11.49.23am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 14th Oct 2004

Marine, Engineering & Manufacturing Skills Partnership, Skills Festival Launch Event at The Rosebowl in West End, Southampton City College display with a boat hand-made by students (l-r) Brian Mill from SCC, Cllr Peter Wall, Tony Thompson King's School Head of Work Related Learning, Sara Green from SCC, David Chidgey MP, Chris Huhne MEP and King's School students James Smith, Jack Parnell and Sam Johnson (all aged 14).

Hampshire parliamentarians David Chidgey MP and Chris Huhne MEP lent their support yesterday to a successful event designed to give young people a taste of the opportunities on offer in local engineering businesses and training institutes.

The Marine, Engineering and Manufacturing Skills partnership put on the employers' showcase and skills festival with the sponsorship of Eastleigh borough council. The executive member for economic development, Councillor Peter Wall, introduced Mr Chidgey and Mr Huhne to exhibitors at the Hampshire Rose Bowl in West End.

Among exhibitors was the Southampton City institute, where instructors were showing off a dinghy made by its students to interested pupils from the Kings School, Winchester together with Mr Chidgey, Mr Huhne and Mr Wall (pictures attached).

Philips semiconductors displayed examples of the silicon chip wafers used in their experimental work, while the VT group was also present in force both with their training and shipbuilding branches. Training providers displaying their wares included Eastleigh College which brought a computer-controlled drill that could gouge names from solid wood.

Other exhibits that sparked much interest included a sports car made by students from Brooklands College, Weybridge, Surrey (also pictured with their teacher Andrew Livesey).

David Chidgey, Eastleigh's MP, is a chartered engineer by background. He said: "This is a great showcase that I hope whets the appetite of local youngsters for what is an exciting and challenging career. Engineering has been a key tradition of this part of Hampshire for many years and long may it continue to be so".

Hampshire MEP Chris Huhne said: "Engineering companies are still the backbone of the local economy, and the sheer range of specialisms on display shows that this is likely to continue for many years. By moving into knowledge-intensive and skills-intensive areas, local engineering can stay two steps ahead of the international competition".

The day-long event attracted hundreds of local teenagers who are beginning to consider their options in the world of work. Cllr Peter Wall said: "The borough sees the Eastleigh Skills Festival as a key investment in our future as a thriving centre for innovation in manufacturing. We aim to communicate a little of the excitement to youngsters of making a successful product that performs its functions well".

Ends