The campaign, involving physical conferences, media and social media, created by manufacturing specialist Will Stirling of Stirling Media, addresses the critical skills gap in the manufacturing sector. The approach is to explain the importance of these jobs to teachers, parents, and students.
Currently, there are over 60,000 live vacancies and 2.5 vacant roles for every 100 jobs in the industry.
The October 2024 conference series, which drew people from 116 schools and education institutes, featured events at Renishaw plc in Gloucestershire, The JCB Academy in Staffordshire, The Slate at Warwick Conferences, and the University and Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds. Encouragingly, each event was significantly oversubscribed, typically attracting 250 to 300 registrations per location. In some cases, more than 80 people from a single school, including parents, subscribed.
The conferences showcased how manufacturing careers are future-proofed through automation, big data management, coding, and artificial intelligence. Crucially, there are multiple routes to access these jobs via apprenticeships, degree apprenticeships, university, and on-the-job training. Delegates, including parents, remarked that the different pathways into these jobs are not always clear.
Over 54 companies participated, demonstrating work opportunities in an industry that offers wages 11% above the national average.
Yan Pugh-Jones, Engineering Director at Brompton Bicycle, who spoke at the event, said: “Events like this are absolutely critical to let people know what a career in manufacturing is really like. There are so many misapprehensions about what these roles entail, what they look like and what these careers can do for you.”
The campaign has produced over 90 videos of conference talks and interviews to date, with TikTok films in production aimed at reaching thousands more students through schools, colleges – and parents’ social media groups. The content specifically targets parents, teachers, and career advisers – key influencers in young people’s career decisions.
Building on this success, the campaign has secured commitments and interest from 10 new locations for 2025, including Belfast, Cambridge, Norwich, and Bristol, with support from major organisations, including Renishaw, Airbus, JCB, and The Technology Partnership in Cambridgeshire. The expansion aims to identify and recruit 150 “Champion” teachers in D&T and STEM to promote long-term manufacturing careers in the classroom.
Future of Work revealed many teachers who already do a huge amount to connect the classroom to the factory and the engineering company. The campaign aims to support these teachers in doing more to link school and these careers, where lack of visibility is often the problem. “Teachers and parents are the missing link to build a technically trained workforce, in my view,” said Will Stirling. “Many are doing this already and should be celebrated and supported further. Awards like ERAF’s David Clark Prize can publicise their work and help find them local support.”
Lisa James, Head of Engineering at Cheadle Hulme High School and Tes Schools Awards 2024 Finalist commented: “It was great (for students) to hear from peers who ‘look like them’, ‘sound like them’ and come from the same place. I’m so inspired that parents were invited too, as they are so often the stumbling block for young people, particularly girls, who are curious about a career in engineering.”
