Motor industry promotes careers day

This year’s British International Motor Show, to be held in the Birmingham NEC and sponsored by The Daily Telegraph, has teamed up with the Campaign to Promote Engineering (CPE) to bring young people the opportunity to kick-start their career in the motor industry.

The first Motor Show Careers Day, to be held on October 28, is expected to introduce more than 7,000 young people between school age and graduate level to the wide variety of career opportunities in the motor industry.

Starting from the CPE’s interactive stand in the NEC's Hall 4, young visitors will be invited to take part in a Motor Show Careers Trail. Entrants will be given a route map and a ‘Careers Day passport’ to guide them through each of the show’s Halls via participating stands. Stands will have apprentices and graduates on hand to discuss their experiences working in the automotive sector.

Participants will receive a stamp in their passport at each stand on route. When they have completed the trail, their passport will be entered into a prize draw to win great prizes, including tickets to the British Rally. Each entrant will also leave with a Motor Show goodie bag.

Copies of the new Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders careers guide, to be launched by Secretary of Trade and Industry Patricia Hewitt will be available for youngsters to collect along with recruitment brochures and information sheets for them to take away and browse at their leisure.

SMMT Chief Executive Christopher Macgowan said: “It is important that we raise awareness of the enormous range of opportunities available to young people in the automotive sector. The continued success of the industry depends on recruiting high-calibre, well-motivated people and we hope that Careers Day will go some way to showing the wealth of exciting careers in areas like product design, retail and research and development.”

The Young Motoring Writer Award 2002, in association with The Daily Telegraph and Lex Vehicle Leasing, will also be launched at Careers Day. The award invites aspiring young writers aged between 17 and 25 to submit an article of 1,000 words based on Congestion. The winning article will be published in The Daily Telegraph and on their website at www.motoring.telegraph.co.uk

(SP)