Students pumped for Michelin factory visits
21 Oct 2013Michelin鈥檚 manufacturing facility in Ballymena will play host to local school pupils this week as it aims to encourage young people into future engineering careers.
When it opens its doors on 22 and 24 October, pupils from 11 schools in Ballymena and Antrim will have the chance to discover the production processes at the tyre manufacturer鈥檚 Northern Ireland plant, which employs around 1,000 people to produce tyres for buses and trucks.
The students will be given an exclusive tour of the factory by Michelin engineers, before taking part in a competition to design an innovative product. Company experts will judge the entries, with the winner receiving a cheque to put towards school funds.
John Milsted, Factory Manager, Michelin, said, 鈥淚f Northern Ireland is to thrive, it needs to promote jobs in the manufacturing sector and the See Inside Manufacturing event is one way of doing this.
鈥淭he image of manufacturing is changing for the better, but there are still many young people who don鈥檛 appreciate the variety, challenges and rewards offered by companies like Michelin.
鈥淓vents like this are really important in helping to nurture Ballymena鈥檚 next generation of engineers. Showing young people first-hand what is involved in the manufacturing process can help ignite a passion that can lead to a long-term and rewarding career.鈥
Michelin鈥檚 other UK facilities in Dundee and Stoke-on-Trent are also taking part in this year鈥檚 See Inside Manufacturing initiative. For more information on all the automotive sector events being run throughout October, click here.
