Posted by: Lorna Waterworth Category: NWAA news Date: Friday, May 21, 2010

THE North West Aerospace Alliance is busy preparing for the Farnborough Air Show.

Click to read the official press release announcing the NWAA’s attendance at the world-leading trade show, to be held in July.

THE North West Aerospace Alliance (NWAA) will be devoting part of its time at the Farnborough Air Show to encouraging young people into the industry.

The NWAA, which represents hundreds of aerospace companies in the North West, will be exhibiting at the show for the full week, sharing its pavilion with more than 40 North West companies and organisations involved in the sector, including Hyde Group, Unipart, MB Aerospace, the Isle of Man Aerospace cluster and the Virtual Engineering Centre.

The UK engineering ‘skills gap’ is widening every year, and recent figures from SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, show that the UK will need to train almost 30,000 scientists and engineers per year until 2016 to meet future workforce requirements.

As part of an ongoing bid to address this issue, the NWAA will be devoting its stand on Friday, July 23 as part of the air show’s Futures Day, which is designed to help encourage youngsters to get involved in engineering and other aerospace skills.

The NWAA stand will then feature interactive games including a project to ‘build your own UAV.’

Martin Wright, chief executive of the North West Aerospace Alliance, said: “Engaging with the workforce of the future is vital to the health and long-term security of the aerospace industry, and the NWAA sees making sure young people have the opportunity to have hands on experience of engineering as a priority.

“Since the NWAA was established, it has invested heavily in working with young people, and we have had some success particularly in recent years. However, we cannot rest on our laurels, and it is obvious that there is a lot to be done if we are to attract the necessary levels of new recruits into the industry.

“Everytime we engage with youngsters we are happy to see the level of interest and excitement at the prospects in the industry, and we are looking forward to meeting hundreds of potential recruits during Futures Day.”

The NWAA has a history of supporting young people in the industry, and also hosts its own annual youth awards. Staff regularly attend education trade shows, and recently engaged with more than 3,000 youngsters at the flagship Skills North West event.

Rachel Brickell, skills manager for the NWAA, added: “We will aim to show the potential of a career in the aerospace sector and encourage young people to get involved from an early stage.”