Nuneaton MP Marcus Jones has spoken in Parliament about the need for the UK to put greater emphasis on promoting engineering careers.
The town’s MP believes that one of the challenges facing the industry is that for many years the country has not valued people who have pursued engineering careers, unlike in Germany who regard engineers as highly qualified and highly skilled people. Marcus believes that must change if the UK is to rebalance its economy effectively.
During the debate, the MP spoke of the importance of the manufacturing industry to Nuneaton. Twenty-two per cent of people in work in Nuneaton are engaged in the manufacturing industries and the town is home to a large number of manufacturing companies, such as Rolls-Royce and Triton Showers, and too many small and medium-sized companies that serve niche markets and the supply chain in the automotive and aerospace sectors.
Marcus also proposed a possible solution to the problems faced by many small manufacturing businesses that often do not have the resources to employ an apprentice. The local MP asked Ministers to explore the idea of providing apprenticeship mentors to support the development of apprentices. Mentors would be sought from individuals in the sector who are retired or are approaching retirement, and would reduce the strain on small businesses who often do not have the resources needed to effectively train and develop apprentices.
In addition, during the debate Marcus urged Ministers to support the City Deal bids submitted for Coventry & Warwickshire and Hinckley & Bosworth which he believes will give our area a vital boost.
Commenting, Marcus said: “Manufacturing is still vital to our region and we currently have a great opportunity to have an even more vibrant economy in the manufacturing and engineering sector and I’m very keen to support that. With many companies like Jaguar Land Rover now selling their products into the high growth economies in South America and Asia we must ensure that we are creating the skills to meet the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for the West Midlands.
“Although there has been welcome progress recently on apprenticeships one of my greatest concerns is for some of our smallest manufacturing companies who often supply the bigger companies and whether they have the capacity to next generation. I have spoken to business people would like to start training apprentices, but their business models do not allow them to invest the necessary time and money into training.
“Nationally, we are now engaging business mentors to help start-up businesses, I therefore asked the Minister to consider the option of creating a scheme using experienced engineers who are retired or coming up to retirement to become mentors to help us teach the skills for the future.”