A MAJOR new North-west campaign was launched with the help of two jet aircraft.

A Tornado and a Hawk from British Aerospace Warton flew over the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester as 200 guests from all over the region heard about the Year Of Engineering Success.

Most of them, it has to be said, blinked and missed the fly-past but it served to highlight the depth of the regions engineering know-how.

YES, is a £25.5m national initiative supported by government, large engineering companies and professional institutions and it is aimed at reminding the public about the value of engineering in everyday life.

It seeks to encourage more young people to take it up as a career.

The invited audience heard about the campaign's objectives and plans for the year. Schools, colleges, companies and other organisations linked to engineering are being invited to take part because it is feared that shortage of skilled engineers threatens to undermine Britains international competitiveness.

The campaign which was launched nationally recently, hopes to reverse the drop in the number of school children taking A levels in Maths/Science and change the unglamorous image of engineering as a career.

Dr Mary Harris, Director General of the Year of Engineering Success told the Manchester audience that Britain needs around 30,000 engineers every year just to stand still, but at the moment only 15,000 are being recruited. She said a highlight of the Year of Engineering would be from March 19 to 23 when YES joined forces with the BBC in a Tomorrows World Live Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham.

"We are going to grab the hearts and minds of the general public and let them into the secret that engineering can be such wonderful, delightful fun," Dr Harris said.

Mr Terry Hogan, Principal of Bolton College in Manchester Road and Mr John Brown, Bolton based chief executive of EEF Lancs are members of the YES North West Steering Committee.

Mr Brown said: "We are looking at some sort of Bolton event during the year with all the partners in town involved.

"It would probably be in the summer and be aimed at school students, parents and teachers."

YES is being supported regionally by the 10 North West Training and Enterprise Councils.

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