“Both sides learned a great deal about each other from these discussions and in the fullness of time I am sure this will help manufacturers build some real bridges between schools and our sector. I am currently arranging follow up meetings with at least 3 of the educational attendees, proving that manufacturing is now clearly on the map for young people in Leeds.”
Graham Cooper – Agfa Graphics Leeds.

Leeds Manufacturing festival ran an event on 19th September to reaffirm the intentions of the Leeds Manufacturing Festival to both schools and the manufacturers taking part.

Graham Cooper, from the organisers Leeds Manufacturing Alliance, presented the overview of the aims of the festival. In particular, Graham showcased some videos of participating companies and how they are currently working with apprentices. (see videos here)

These videos demonstrate exciting opportunities for young people to get involved in careers within manufacturing, and, at the event, the schools attending were encouraged to show these to their students to dispel the myths of working within manufacturing. No longer is this sector a place for low salaries and dirty shop floors. In some instances, manufacturing is at the forefront of technology and offers innovation and global careers.

There are a range of jobs available within manufacturing including, accountancy, marketing, design and production. There is a shortage in all areas of skills in manufacturing which is currently in a growth trajectory in the UK.

Harriet Fearn from the LEP also spoke about how her team will work to ensure the link between schools and manufacturers are made.

Leeds Manufacturing Live #leedsmfglive
Finally, Tracey Dawson from Daletech Ltd spoke specifically about the Leeds Manufacturing Live event on 16th October, which is an exciting opportunity for schools to interact remotely, in real time with a panel of manufacturing specialists and their apprentices. It will allow students the opportunity to ask pertinent questions of those already involved and talk to apprentices that are in position and seeing the benefits it has made to their careers. To join in on 16th October at 10am go to www.leedsmanufacturingfestival.co.uk/youtube, where you can watch live and tweet in your questions.

At the end of the presentation there was time for a question and answer session which was dynamic and really got people involved.

Topics discussed included: what are the standards required for jobs in manufacturing, where to go to find these apprenticeships and further details on the best routes for progression. For those without the relevant GCSE results, questions were asked and answered about how these individuals could find entry level positions and get a good career despite their educational challenges.