Welcome to the Friday Brief for 28 February 2014.
Training the next generation of engineers, designers and technicians is very much in the spotlight over the next few weeks. Attention on the sector kicks off on 3 March with National Apprenticeship Week. There are events all over the country and dedicated tool kits available. We have full details in this week’s Friday Brief.
Hot on the National Apprenticeship Week is the next MTA Members’ Quarterly Meeting (MQM), the theme of which will be “Changing the Skills Landscape”. We are really fortunate to welcome Alison Bettac, Director of Training at the AMRC Sheffield, who will be outlining the changing face of skills in our sector, so put it in your diary and register with Randa Orgill on rorgill@mta.org.uk Let’s make it a really successful day. The MQM will take place on Wednesday 12 March at Delcam’s headquarters in Birmingham. There will also be presentations on best practice and MTA members’ experiences relating to skills development.
The MTA has a long standing commitment to supporting apprenticeships in the engineering based manufacturing and encouraging young people to consider careers in the sector. As part of this commitment the MTA organises an annual Technology, Design & Innovation Challenge. The competition does not require students to do additional work, but draws instead on the course work that they have submitted for their public examinations. There are details in the Friday Brief of the launch of this year’s exciting TDI Challenge.
This past week has seen the MTA take space at the CCMT Exhibition in China. A number of MTA members exhibited and we have a report from the show.
This week’s economic data includes the latest UK machine tool export figures. Exports to China are at their highest level ever and to the USA show the best results for seven years.
Have a good weekend.