Vince Cable has marked the start of the second Tomorrow’s Engineers Week by confirming the government’s commitment to invest in training the upcoming engineers of the future.
The Business Secretary announced that the government and employers are working together to develop the engineering workforce the UK needs to compete on the world stage.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “A strong British engineering sector lies at the heart of sustainable economic recovery. That’s why we have joined forces with industry to secure the pipeline of talented and skilled engineers UK industry needs. Tomorrow’s Engineers Week is about ensuring that each and every young person across the country is aware of the exciting future they could have as an engineer.”
Creating engineers of the future
Acting on the recommendations of ‘Perkins Review of Engineering Skills’ published in November last year, the government has established partnerships with employers from across the engineering industry with multi-million pound collaborative investments in new initiatives. These new initiatives cover such issues as colleges for manufacturing, energy and high-speed rail and £30 million of match funding for businesses to design and deliver innovative skills training.
The first £20 million of the fund is currently open for employers looking to develop projects aimed at improving engineering careers and helping increase the number of women in the sector. The final £10 million will soon be made available to develop engineering skills in smaller companies.
Tomorrow’s Engineers Week seeks to inspire young people to take their first steps towards a career in engineering by celebrating the everyday engineering heroes that design, create and innovate to improve our lives in the UK. The week was launched by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) in 2013 in partnership with the engineering industry following the ‘Perkins Review of Engineering Skills’, which called for government and engineering firms to work together to secure the UK’s engineering future.
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