On Thursday 13th June, the Wellington Trust hosted over 20 students, staff and maritime companies to launch the second phase of Future Maritime Engineers. The programme is a two-phase project aimed at broadening the horizons of young people expressing an interest in engineering careers.
The first phase of the programme facilitated opportunities for students to meet with companies in the maritime sector. This second phase enables residential opportunities which are being held this year in the Southampton and Portsmouth areas. This year the programme focus is electrical and electronic engineering, aligning with the interests expressed by the students.
The keynote speech was delivered by Carl Stephen Patrick Hunter OBE, Wellington Trust Ambassador and Chairman of Coltraco Ultrasonics. He provided some very encouraging words:
“When a discovery creates opportunity or transforms lives, British Engineers and scientists have so often led the world. You can too.
In the nineteenth century, George Stephenson, the “Father of our railways” also made Newcastle the first city in the world to export railway locomotives. India is a nation united by English and its British-designed railway system, today the world’s largest too.
In the twentieth century, Arthur Pilkington made St Helen’s the global centre of innovation in glassmaking – armoured glass, submarine periscope and more.
The cities of the United Kingdom grew to become global centres of innovative production and services too – and marine engineering straddles both from the use of advanced diesel, gas turbine and electric propulsion.
Your opportunity and duty as young marine engineers is to lead our world in the 4th industrial revolution with kindness, service to others, invention, engineering and maintenance, to give people a safe and boundless world."
The event enabled students to learn about opportunities in electrical and electronic engineering with the companies participating. Students also benefitted from direct advice on how to apply for apprenticeships and the wider learning journeys available in this field of engineering.
Also on hand to demonstrate the most traditional of maritime communications techniques – semaphore – was Wellington Trust Ambassador Simon Quail BEd MA. His demonstrations provided a colourful and active addition to proceedings.
Education is a cornerstone of the Wellington Trust objects. Important in equal measure is supporting education programmes and events in maritime history, and helping to develop young aspiring mariners.
The event was kindly supported by the Portal Trust and organised by the Wellington Trust’s Education Officer. If you are interested in the Wellington Trust education initiatives, please contact the Wellington Trust’s Education Officer Rebecca Swan edo@thewellingtontrust.org.
This year marks the 90th anniversary of HMS WELLINGTON and the Wellington Trust recently launched the Wellington@90 fundraising appeal. If you would like to support keeping WELLINGTON accessible to all, and our education initiatives, please consider donating via the “DONATE” tab in the top right hand corner of our website.
