Leeds factories welcome 10,000 students following manufacturing festival launch

Business leaders from around 50 Leeds manufacturers have come together at Leeds City College Printworks Campus to launch a new initiative.

It is aimed at showcasing the latest career opportunities available to young people across the city’s manufacturing sector.

As the UK’s third largest manufacturing centre, Leeds is home to more than 1,800 manufacturing firms, employing 26,000 people.

The Leeds Manufacturing Festival, which runs until October 2019, will include an extensive programme of events linking young people with potential employers.

Tie-ups between schools, colleges and Leeds businesses will see factory tours by students and manufacturers visiting schools, as well as taster days and work experience initiatives involving around 10,000 young people across the city.

Graham Cooper, one of the festival’s organisers and director of high-tech printing products manufacturer Agfa Graphics in Leeds, said: “There’s a misconception among young people, which I think comes from their parents and to some extent their teachers, that manufacturing is no longer a viable career option in this country, that it’s a dying industry.

“In fact, it is thriving and nowhere more so than here in Leeds, where there are some incredibly high-tech and exciting businesses that simply not enough people know about.

“The Leeds Manufacturing Festival is all about opening up manufacturing workplaces to young people and highlighting the exciting careers and job opportunities that are available right here in Leeds, covering a huge variety of different roles.”