Fylde's aerospace apprentices hailed

Shadow Skills Minister and Blackpool South MP Gordon Marsden has met up with some of the 10,000 plus apprentices currently flying high with the UK's aerospace, defence and space industries.
Gordon Marsden with Joseph Humphries of MagellanGordon Marsden with Joseph Humphries of Magellan
Gordon Marsden with Joseph Humphries of Magellan

Among the young aircraft engineers of the future was an apprentice from his constituency based at Magellan Aerospace.

At the Aerospace Defence and Space Parliamentary reception celebrating the contribution made by their apprentices to the £27bn in exports from their high tech industries, Gordon met Magellan Aerospace apprentice Joseph Humphries from South Shore currently doing a first year HNC in manufacturing engineering with the firm, which operates from Squires Gate Industrial Estate.

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Gordon said: “It was great to chat to Joseph and a range of other apprentices who are looking to get skilled,long term and productive jobs in an industry, which has seen substantial growth in sales, not least with our European partners, over the last 10 years.

“Joseph is also currently doing a day release at BAE’s training school in Preston and hopes to go onto Level 4 with his apprenticeship and the possibility of doing a higher skills degree whilst working – which is an attractive option to avoid increasingly high full time tuition fees.”

Gordon added: “This event underlined the huge potential which I as Shadow Apprenticeships Minister see week after week in the visits and meetings I have.

“Across Lancashire, aerospace and defence employment, both in the smaller supply chain, high skilled engineering companies, as well as major international players such as BAE is crucial – not least for people from Blackpool.

“That international co-operation and those European connexions need to continue to give all of us in Blackpool good economic prospects for the 2020s.”

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