Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, challenged the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills on what it is doing to inspire more young people to become engineers.
He pointed to the new £500m Jaguar Land Rover engine plant, which is currently being built in his constituency, as an example of why we need to support the development of engineering talent in the UK.
During the morning Questions, Gavin said: “In South Staffordshire, we are seeing the construction of a £500 million new engine plant for Jaguar Land Rover. However, one of the great constraints on the automotive sector is the need for more engineers coming through our university system.
“What more can the Government do to encourage more engineers to drive forward our wonderful automotive sector?
The Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Michael Fallon MP, responded: “We are encouraging more children to take up science subjects and to study Maths earlier and for longer, and to be more aware of the high-value, highly regarded careers that are available in engineering.
“We are urging companies to open up their premises to more visits from schools, particularly in connection with the See Inside Manufacturing initiative that we are launching again, this October.”