A new Learning Officer, Mel Ballam, will be employed at the museum to engage with local secondary schools and promote UK manufacturing. Brose UK, which manufactures seat structures and window regulators for car makers including Nissan, Jaguar Land Rover and Toyota, will sponsor the position as part of its commitment to developing the next generation of engineers. The company will also look to hire 100 new staff members in the next year.
The museum will play host to 800 12-16 year-olds, who will take part in a range of educational activities including working on land speed record projects to making new machines out of recycled materials.
“We are very passionate about investing in skills and ensuring we get more young people interested in following a career in the automotive industry,” said Juergen Zahl, managing director of Brose UK. “Coventry was the centre of the automotive world for many years and we are slowly enjoying a renaissance, with significant investment in the car sector and a host of new technologies being developed by firms and universities across the region.”
Coventry Transport Museum hosts the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world. It has recently undergone a major £9.5 million redevelopment, and is now positioning itself as a centre for learning for budding engineers in the region.
“We are delighted to have one of the city’s fastest-growing manufacturers on board,” said Francis Ranford, director of learning and engagement at the museum. “We now believe we can make a real impact in spreading the STEM message, especially to secondary school pupils. We are now looking for schools to come forward and share their intention to take part. Our facilities are world class and we now have the resource needed to make the most of them.”
