Youngsters considering their future career options got an insight into automotive manufacturing this month as Michelin hosted tours of its Stoke factory as part of a national government apprenticeship drive.
Students from five nearby schools visited Michelin’s facilities on 11 and 13 October to receive guided tours and learn about the career and skills opportunities available in manufacturing careers.
Lord Mayor of Stoke, Councillor Terry Follows, joined students on the first day of the two-day tours organised by Michelin, accompanying them on the guided tour of the facility and listening to presentations given by Michelin’s training, engineering and logistics departments. There was also a careers fair, offering flavours of the range of careers within Michelin including engineering, IT, personnel and health and safety and there was also an interactive quiz with prizes.
The site tour was part of government’s ‘See Inside Manufacturing’ initiative, launched in March by Business Secretary, Dr Vince Cable. The scheme is designed to help deliver an additional 250,000 apprenticeships in the UK and the automotive sector is the first industry to support this nationwide roll-out of activities.
Factory Manager, Sean Parry, said, “The Michelin Stoke factory is very pleased to participate in the ‘See Inside Manufacturing’ initiative which was launched by the UK Automotive Council and supported by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The aim is to raise awareness about the wide range of interesting and skilled job opportunities that exist within the manufacturing sector. It is a great opportunity to open our doors, during what is a very positive time for the Stoke factory as we are now progressing well on the multi-million pound modernisation project that will allow us to rebuild the latest generation of Michelin Durable Technology truck tyres.
Michelin’s Stoke facility was the first Michelin UK factory to host a ‘See Inside Manufacturing’ event, followed by Ballymena, Northern Ireland and Dundee, Scotland in November.
For more information about ‘See Inside Manufacturing’, click here.