Young engineers compete at The Skills Show

The EAL class of 2016 makes up more than half the competitors – 65 out of 116 – in the 13 engineering disciplines being contested at the National Skills Show at Birmingham’s NEC from 17-19 November 2016.

They will be undertaking a series of tasks in front of more than 75,000 visitors who will attend the fifth Skills Show, organised by WorldSkills UK, over three days with the winners picking up gold medals at a ceremony on the 19th November and the possibility of representing Team UK at WorldSkills International in Kazan, Russia 2019.

The engineering disciplines competitions organised and supported by industry skills specialist Semta are: aeronautical engineering (avionic), aeronautical engineering (mechanical), CNC milling, CNC turning, industrial electronics, mechanical engineering: CAD, mechatronics, robotics, construction metalwork, sheet metalwork technology, welding and the manufacturing team challenge.

EAL, the specialist qualifications awarding organisation for industry, is part of the Semta Group which is charged with engineering skills for the future and its experts will also be judging the SkillsElectric event during the three days.

Al Parkes, EAL’s acting managing director, said: “We are delighted to see so many EAL learners win through their regional heats and make it to the national finals of such a prestigious competition. It is also pleasing to see eight young women who will be competing in the engineering categories this year – a 100% increase on last year - showcasing their talents at Britain’s premier skills event in the year where diversity is a key theme.

“These competitions are a great way of promoting engineering as a career to parents, teachers and young people themselves. We hope they are inspired by what they see and we wish all competitors the very best of luck.”

Some of Britain’s biggest businesses have lined up to help secure the nation’s economic future and offer 20,000 jobs. Jaguar Land Rover, BAE Systems, Airbus Operations, QinetiQ, Toyota and Dyson are among the big brands represented.

Sign-up Saturday will give visitors the opportunity to take direct action about their future careers – by applying for live vacancies with the employers at the event, enrolling on training courses or for a college qualification, or signing up with a careers adviser to find out more about the next steps to take.

Semta Group www.semta.org.uk/worldskills-uk