Countdown on for high fliers of the future

The former Countdown numbers guru visited aircraft manufacturer BAE Systems in Warton as part of Women in Engineering Day.

Carol met a group of students who took part in an after-school engineering club run by female engineers from the company to inspire them to consider careers in the industry.

Speaking after the visit, Carol said: “We need to make sure young women know from an early age that there are opportunities for them in engineering – it is not a man’s world.

“The work which BAE Systems is doing with young people shows them how inspiring engineering can be and how relevant it is to our lives – after all, every piece of technology in our lives is the product of engineering.

“We need to act today to inspire young women to become the engineers of tomorrow.”

She met the pupils in the final assembly facility where the company builds its Eurofighter Typhoon jets, which are part of the front line of securing the skies across the globe, including with the RAF in the UK.

Jackie Long, work-based learning co-ordinator at Ashton Community Science College, added: “The after-school club which the education ambassadors from BAE Systems ran with us has left our girls inspired to consider careers in engineering.

But to visit the facility at Warton and see the product of some of the leading engineers in the world gave them a real insight in to what they could be involved in.

“To meet Carol Vorderman on top of all that really was the icing on the cake.”

The after-school club is one of a number of activities by BAE Systems across Lancashire to inspire young people into careers in engineering.

It holds careers workshops at more than 100 schools across the North West every year and is represented at education events to promote the industry, including the Lancashire Science Festival being held at the University of Central Lancashire this weekend.

In September, the company will take on more than 100 apprentices and graduates at its sites in Warton and Samlesbury.