Prince of Wales warns over engineering skills shortage

At an event at Jaguar Land Rover's flagship Halewood Plant in Merseyside yesterday, Prince Charles said Britain was in danger of relinquishing its world class reputation if more young people were not attracted into the industries. "So often it seems that we have forgotten in this country that Britain is very good at manufacturing and has all sorts of remarkable skills of ingenuity and inventiveness," he said. "As a country, we are rightly proud of our industrial heritage, but we should also celebrate our continued success as the standard bearer of quality manufacturing and engineering throughout the world. From car production to quality shoe making, from precision engineering to traditional craft skills, Britain is truly a global leader." The Prince went on to stress the importance of ensuring the sector "has access to enough talented young people with the necessary skills to help companies grow." He also announced a £2.4million boost for his Business Class scheme, which helps companies tackle the unemployment crisis by enabling them to work with schools in deprived areas.