GE Aviation Wales wins Gold Valued Partner Award

The programme is designed to help bridge the skills gap between education and employment by bringing schools and businesses together. From offering work placements, to visiting schools and running mock interviews, the Education Business Exchange programme was launched by Careers Wales in 2018 and now has more than 50 companies on board.

Receiving the award is a celebration of the contribution GE Aviation Wales has made to business and careers-focused activities in schools to support the development of Wales’ future workforce.

Most recently apprentices and engineers from GE Aviation Wales visited Risca leisure centre to participate in The Choose Your Future event. The event was in partnership with Chris Evans MP and there were over 650 students from local schools in attendance. The event was very informative, with GE Aviation Wales providing hints and tips for interviews and identifying key pathways for certain careers. Apprentices were also in attendance at Skills Cymru, a large careers fair in Cardiff, where they engaged with young people about their career choices and future pathways.

In addition to activities that are coordinated with the help of Careers Wales, GE Aviation Wales also has a long-term partnership with St Illtyd’s – as part of the BITC Cymru Business Class programme. Recently, St Illtyd’s Design and Technology class have visited the Nantgarw site for a site tour with a focused element on 3D Printing. They interacted with qualified aircraft engineers on projects they are working on onsite.

Nick Blakeney, site leader at GE Aviation Wales, said: “This is a fantastic result for GE Aviation Wales. I am incredibly proud of all the employees involved in all the initiatives and relationships we have built with local schools and communities. We believe it vital that young people are equipped with the skills and training they need to become the workforce of the future.

“Our involvement has helped inspire, motivate and inform young people about the world of work and their future opportunities. I’m immensely pleased our workforce has been recognised for their contribution, and look forward to continue working with Careers Wales.”

GE Aviation www.geaviation.com