News: Event inspires young people about opportunities in engineering

NAMTEC, the National Metals Technology Centre, based in Rotherham, sponsored an event recently that gave 200 pupils from schools across South Yorkshire the chance to meet with some of the region's leading engineering companies.

The "Inform, Involve, Inspire" event, which was held at Sheffield Hallam University, was organised by the Industrial Trust involved pupils from Dinnington and Brinsworth.

TV presenter and broadcast engineer Kate Bellingham, who presented Tomorrow's World in the 1990s and is also the President of WISE (Women in Science and Engineering), spoke with enthusiasm about her role as a broadcast engineer and how there are a world of opportunities out there for young people who want a challenging, exciting career.

Kate Bellingham said: "I was thrilled to speak to the students here today about how I made my career in engineering and why I love it so much! There was a real buzz about the place and it is so exciting to see their enthusiasm. It was encouraging to see so many young women here too – and all the signs are that this region’s businesses will have a strong pool of talented young engineers to call on in the not too distant future!"

Following Kate Bellingham's inspiring talk, the students had the chance to take part in a "speed networking" session, where they could engage with engineers working for companies within the South Yorkshire region. Businesses involved included Tata Steel, Gripple, JRI, DavyMarkham, Bridon International, Brinsworth Training, Kostal, Outokumpu, RCAT, Siemens VAI, Newburgh Engineering, Sheffield Forgemasters and IMechE.

Engineering staff at Sheffield Hallam University also gave students an outline of the many different pathways into engineering, where pupils had the chance to ask questions about their particular areas of interest.

A range of engineering workshops throughout the day also highlighted advanced technologies within Sheffield Hallam University that aim to increase understanding and inspire students to pursue engineering-related courses.

Paul Grant, Commercial Manager of NAMTEC, said: "This event gave young people the opportunity to come face to face with engineers to ask them exactly what they wanted to know and to find out more about the routes into a wide variety of engineering roles.

"It has been a huge success and we were delighted to be involved in an activity that should help this region's manufacturing and engineering businesses to recruit high calibre young engineers of the future."

This was the second event with which NAMTEC was involved that formed part of the Global Manufacturing Festival: Sheffield.

NAMTEC website

Images: NAMTEC