The Black Country Skills Factory has joined forces with the University of Wolverhampton to sponsor SciFest 2014 and showcase High Value Manufacturing (HVM) to budding young engineers and their parents.
The Black Country Skills Factory is an employer-led project supported by government funding whose aim is to address the skills shortages in the HVM sector in the Black Country, the only scheme of this kind across the UK to focus specifically on the HVM sector.
The annual science festival returns on Tuesday 1st July for a week-long celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) at the Universitys City Campus in the centre of Wolverhampton.
Tailored for students of all ages including Primary, GCSE and Sixth Form students, the festival offers FREE workshops, events and presentations; the opportunity to see TVs Johnny Ball; and meet staff and students from the Universitys STEM courses.
Through science and technology workshops such as Mars Lander, Shift-It!, Laser Creator and Make Your Own Money; the Black Country Skills Factory will aim to demonstrate the exciting opportunities to be had through careers in HVM. Students will also be able to meet Black Country employers from the HVM sector during the Speed STEM Networking event at the Sixth Form Opportunity Fayre on Wednesday 2nd July.
As part of its commitment to the schools strand of the project which aims to change the perception of the manufacturing sector amongst young people, the Skills Factory will be presenting its Career Map and Career Wheel to highlight the different pathways into the HVM sector. The pros and cons of academic, vocational and apprenticeship career pathways will be communicated to young people and their parents.
Colin Parker, Project Director of the Black Country Skills Factory, said: we want to ensure that High Value Manufacturing is a prominent part of the Engineering and Science offer at Scifest 2014.
What is really key is the linkage between the school curriculum subjects and how they feed into the real world of industry.
A series of themed days will be on offer at the festival for school visits, as well as a free family day on Saturday 5th July. For more details about Scifest and to book onto events visit www.wlv.ac.uk/scifest
For further information on the Black Country Skills Factory, visit: www.blackcountryskillsfactory.co.uk or contact Colin Parker on 07944 268709 / Jacki Lakin on 07944 268712.
To find out more follow on Twitter: @BCSkillsFactory.