SCORES of teachers from across the North-East joined industrialists in a drive to increase their understanding of engineering careers.

It is hoped that the teachers – from more than 80 secondary schools in the region – will be better placed to advise their students on career options in the sector following last week’s event hosted by Semta (The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies).

The first North-East Engineering and Manufacturing Careers Conference was held because engineering suffers a perception problem among many young people, despite being a thriving sector of the North-East economy which will create thousands of jobs in the next few years.

Graham Payne, the former managing director of Darchem Engineering, who chaired the event, told the audience that many young people do not fully appreciate what the engineering sector has to offer, and there was a need to raise its profile.

Mr Payne, who is also chairman of industry group NOF Energy, said: “We absolutely both need to work harder to understand each others’ opportunities and challenges, and we need to change perceptions and expose the sector to the youth of today as a viable and sustainable career option, otherwise we will be failing in our duties.”

The North-East engineering sector employs about 61,000 people in more than 2,000 companies in areas such as automotive, aerospace, defence and energy, with Hitachi soon to open its train factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Among the speakers at the event, which was held at Gateshead College’s Skills Academy for Sustainable Manufacturing and Innovation, next to Nissan’s Sunderland plant, were Jonathon Booth, a second-year graduate engineer at Cummins Engines in Darlington, and Ryan Tweddell, an apprentice at Chirton Engineering, in North Shields, North Tyneside, alongside his boss Michael Morris.

Teachers were also shown a practical activity to promote engineering in class by Kevin Burke, from Stemnet, which aims to inspire young people in science, technology, engineering and maths, before the day ended with a tour of the Nissan plant.

As part of its drive to promote sectors where large numbers of jobs will be created in the North-East, increasing young people’s understanding and perceptions of engineering is a key aim of Foundation for Jobs, which was involved in the organisation of the Semta event.

Foundation for Jobs is a national award-winning initiative involving Darlington Borough Council, The Northern Echo and the Darlington Partnership, made up of public and private sector organisations.