Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, has welcomed the launch of a new program by Jaguar Land Rover to attract more women into engineering.
Inspiring Tomorrow's Engineers: Girls in the Know was developed in partnership with Birmingham Metropolitan College, with the aim of dispelling out-dated stereotypes associated with engineering and manufacturing.
It was set up to complement other, existing JLR initiatives to encourage more women to become engineers.
Gavin said: “I think this program is a wonderful idea. I can see absolutely no reason why we should not have equal numbers of male and female engineers, and consider it laudable that JLR is seeking to address the existing gender imbalance.”
The announcement of the new program came shortly after Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's largest automotive apprenticeship provider, launched its 2014 apprenticeship recruitment campaign.
The company is looking for up to 150 recruits to join the 500 strong group, currently undertaking the scheme across its five English sites.
The four-year Advanced Apprenticeship is aimed at GCSE students, while the the six-year Higher Apprenticeship is aimed at A-Level entrants.