Nissan drives home message to hundreds of youngsters that engineering is exciting

A two-week event held by Nissan this month to introduce hundreds of school children to the attractions of engineering and manufacturing has been hailed a success.

The School Engineering Event saw more than 1,700 young people take part on what was billed as an inspirational introduction to a world that many of Wearside’s talented young people may one day work in.

Children from 35 schools visited Nissan’s Sunderland factory on the outskirts of Washington to see how car manufacturing has evolved over the past 30 years and to learn how Nissan is creating a new ecosystem for making electric vehicles with renewable energy.

The hands-on experience involved team challenges, like building a marble rollercoaster using just paper and sticky tape!

Adam Pennick, vice president of manufacturing at Nissan Sunderland, said: “There is no better way to be inspired by the world of engineering and manufacturing than to see it up close, first hand.

“This is a fantastic event, which challenges youngsters to think as engineers and which helps shape their future career plans. I know, because we have members of the team now working at the plant who were inspired by the Skills Foundation.

“We at Nissan Sunderland are delighted to invest in the next generation of talent because the school children of today are our world-class automotive workforce of tomorrow. I hope we will be welcoming more than a few of the pupils who took part in this event back to our plant in the years ahead.”

The Nissan Skills Foundation, the company’s school engagement drive to inspire the talent of the future, held the event over the course of a fortnight in April.

The children, from schools across Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, and Durham were taken on a tour of the plant’s final assembly line, watching the UK’s best-seller, Qashqai, the 100% electric Nissan LEAF and Juke roll off the line.

The aim of the School Engineering event was to inspire young people to think about a career in industry, giving school children the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom and advance their science, technology, engineering and maths skills.

Jayne Conqueror, a teacher at St Anthony’s School in Sunderland, said: “The Schools Engineering Event at Nissan Sunderland Plant was an inspiring and motivational day for the children.

“It gave them the opportunity to discover the exciting world of manufacturing and engineering first-hand. It was wonderful to see the children so engaged in the activities and the plant tour, they came back to school very excited about the day.”

The Nissan Skills Foundation was set up in 2013 and offers young people from the age of nine, up to 16 the chance to experience the sense of innovation and spirit of excitement involved in automotive design, engineering, and manufacturing at Nissan, Sunderland through a series of workshops and interactive activities.