Engineering is in the spotlight at CKMA Event

Kirklees College Engineering Centre was a hive of activity on Tuesday 23^rd October as it hosted the Calderdale and Kirklees Manufacturing Alliance ‘Make it in Manufacturing’ event aimed at year 9 and 10 students and their careers advisors to showcase manufacturing as an exciting career choice.

The event was well attended with over 11 schools, 162 students and 13 manufacturers showcasing the vast array of engineering roles available in this diverse and stimulating career pathway.

The event was split up into three zones, an ‘Inspiration Zone’ with videos and young ambassadors, a ‘Meet the Manufacturer Zone’ giving the opportunity to have a chat with local businesses about what they do and an ‘Interactive Zone’ where people could get hands-on with activities and kit.

Ian Brierley, who sits on the steering group of CKMA but is also Chairman of John L Brierley, Art & Craft Factory and SCM Turbomotive said of the event:

“Engineering is an exciting and innovative industry with fantastic employment prospects. The number of roles within this field is vast and extensive and we hope this event demonstrates to the engineers of the future just what opportunities are out there and how students can progress in this career.”

From a virtual welder to a hydraulic arm and machinery parts that have been up in space, this event was aimed at helping young people and their career advisors consider manufacturing and engineering as a career of choice.

Students were introduced to manufacturers who could one day be their potential employer and learn about the different roles that exist within the industry.

Robert Farrell of Reliance Precision Ltd said:

“This is a great event to get students engaged in Engineering from an early age and help them start thinking about a career in this industry. We actively recruit apprentices into our company and to get them excited about what they can achieve and allow them to physically see what they could be creating, really gets their imaginations flowing and can be the first step they need to dip their toes into the wonderful world of engineering.”

This event is the first of two events taking place this week and has received great feedback from both students and manufacturers, who have left inspired about the future of engineering.