Breakfast summits for engineers

A series of breakfast skills summits starts in Birmingham today, November 18th, to persuade employers to put their money where their mouths are when it comes to persuading youngsters of the importance of engineering as a future career. Over bacon and eggs, a dozen of the West Midlands key employers will be asked to play a key role in boosting the new GCSE in Engineering. Dr Michael Sanderson, chief executive of the engineering skills council SEMTA, is hosting the breakfast at the Hilton Hotel at the NEC. He will urge the employers, who include Land Rover, to send role models into the classroom to explain the scope of engineering and also provide placements for teachers to allow them to gain first hand experience of life in industry. He will be hosting similar breakfast summits in Leeds (November 24), Nottingham (December 5) and Southampton (December 9). He said today: “It is staggering to think that Birmingham, which was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, now produces more media studies graduates than it does engineering graduates. “We must change the perception of engineering in our schools by showing pupils the opportunities it offers. Employers have a key role in achieving this goal.” For further info and contact Tom Condon at SEMTA on 0207 227 8413 or on 07730 420814.TS