AN EVENT to encourage students to take up careers in engineering will take place at Milton Keynes College in October.
Many of the region’s major engineering and automation firms are to attend the Engineering Your Future event, organised by regional technology forum Biztech.
The UK’s lack of skills within the engineering industry is well documented and, according to the government, the sector needs to recruit around 186,000 skilled recruits each year until 2024 to tackle the shortfall.
Engineering Your Future, which takes place on October 16, is designed to enthuse students and equip them with the necessary information which will enable them to make informed choices about their career directions.
Open to all Year 9 pupils and above who are currently at schools and colleges across the SEMLEP region, Engineering Your Futurewill be attended by engineering companies, including Starship Technologies, creators of the delivery robots that are becoming commonplace on the pavements of Milton Keynes. Their representatives will be joined by those from Dynamic Imaging Analytics, SMC Pneumatics (UK) Ltd, Rockwell Automation and Routeco.
Educational establishments supporting the event include the University of Buckingham, the University of Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes College.
Attendees will be able to view the exhibits, listen to influential speakers, including a representative from McLaren Applied Technologies, and hear from ex-apprentices on their journey into engineering. University representatives will highlight the educational paths students can expect to take and sessions dedicated to the engineering industry will be run by employer-education charity Worktree to enable students to ask any questions they may have on working within the sector.
Biztech associate Paul Clarke, of Develin Consulting, is organising the Engineering Your Future event. “It is vital that we inspire future generations of engineers,” he said. “We have a great pool of engineering and automation companies within Milton Keynes and this event provides a platform for them to demonstrate their innovations.
“In order for the sector to flourish within our region we need to entice people from a young age and harness this talent to create future employment.”
