Bradford Manufacturing Weeks provides "huge value" as impact reaches 17,000 students

A Bradford careers advisor says the district’s annual Bradford Manufacturing Weeks initiative provides “huge value” in creating pathways towards employment.

Speaking as a new report shows the West & North Yorkshire Chamber careers initiative has reached more than 17,000 Bradford students since its inception in 2018, Bradford Forster Academy careers advisor Angela Brackley, said that the employer-based links the school has formed through Bradford Manufacturing Weeks, is making a real difference to students.

From 3-14 October this year, almost 2,000 Bradford students aged 14 to 18 interacted with Bradford manufacturers through site tours, ‘meet the manufacturer’ and ‘meet the apprentice’ sessions, skills and attitude workshops, live demonstrations and practical events.

During the fortnight, Bradford Forster Academy student, Sarim Akhtar (13), joined his fellow students for a trip to Bradford’s air management experts Mansfield Pollard. Sarim said: “I thought manufacturing was just about building metal things but we were shown how they make the systems that heat up and cool down places like Ikea! And we got the chance to have a go at making our own sound proofing box.”

Bradford Manufacturing Weeks is sponsored by Bradford Council, E3 Recruitment, the University of Bradford, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Naylor Wintersgill and LCF Law. The 2023 report was compiled by school and career specialists. The Opportunity Centre, which has co-ordinated the school and manufacturer activities since 2018.

It states that alongside delivering activities and resources for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) pupils, 965 Bradford students attended in-school talks, 332 took part in panel events and 305 students got involved in a UN sustainability goal-focussed competition. The report concluded that 100 per cent of participating schools felt pupils benefited from being involved.

Bradford Forster Academy careers advisor Angela Brackley said: “Bradford is known as a city which is involved in manufacturing and students can walk past buildings every day with no knowledge of what goes on inside. Bradford Manufacturing Weeks is helping to change that and I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to our school’s annual career activities and the perspective of our students.”

Lou Frankland, Mansfield Pollard CEO and a participant in the 2022 Bradford Manufacturing Weeks’ Women in Manufacturing Panel event, said the company’s sole aim during the initiative is to inspire as many local students as possible.

She said: “It’s an opportunity to engage with the engineers of the future and showcase manufacturing as a vibrant and modern sector offering unlimited potential to develop and progress.

“Building and nurturing links with local schools and students provides the perfect platform to develop mutually beneficial relationships and further boost the reputation of Bradford as the manufacturing capital of the UK.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily