A TRAINING charity will encourage young people from across the Tees Valley to consider careers in engineering at special event next month.

Middlesbrough-based TTE Technical Training Group TTE, which is one of the UK’s largest apprenticeship training organisations for the engineering, manufacturing, oil & gas and process sectors is inviting students on Tuesday 4 and Thursday February 6 to come along between 5pm and 8pm to discuss the training career opportunities.

The evenings offer young people the chance to learn more about the technical training courses available at TTE and have previously proven to be very popular with those expecting to leave school this summer.

They will also provide an opportunity to take a tour of TTE’s specialist training facilities, talk to existing learners and meet the industry expert staff responsible for training.

TTE provides a range of Vocational Study Programmes and Advanced Level Apprenticeships to support career development into engineering-related industries such as manufacturing, oil & gas, chemical and process.

From its industry-standard training centre in South Bank, it delivers practical vocational training supported by classroom-based activities. 

Significantly, local young people also benefit from the training expertise of the TTE team, which is delivered to companies around the world such as BP and Marathon Oil.

The training provider runs programmes for disciplines such as mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, process and building services, all of which are easily transferred between different sectors within the industry. These qualifications can lead to a career in areas such as electrical engineering, fabrication and mechanical engineering.

Learners spend two years at TTE working towards a vocational study programme, which, upon successful completion, can lead to securing an employee-sponsored advanced level apprenticeship. 

Apprentices then spend two years working as part of their sponsors’ workforce gaining invaluable workplace experience.

Steve Grant, TTE managing director, said: “Events such as these are very important. Not all young people are aware of their options and the Careers Evenings provide the perfect opportunity to reach the youngsters and explain the paths that TTE can open up to them.

“Raising the profile of TTE and its apprenticeships to these young people is not only important for them but is vital for employers due to the skills shortages and ageing workforce the industry is having to cope with.

“The programmes provided at TTE are very well respected by businesses in the industry.  Learners are provided with a range of skills and competencies that prepare them well for working life. Rather than understanding the theory of the process they will actually have experience of working on our specialist facilities such as the in-house chemical process pilot plant."