North East MP first to pledge support for UK manufacturing campaign

Chi Onwurah has become the first MP to sign the Institution of Mechanical Engineer’s Five-Year Skill Solution pledge ahead of this May’s general election.

Chi Onwurah has become the first MP in the UK to sign the Institution of Mechanical Engineer’s Five-Year Skill Solution pledge ahead of this May’s general election.

The Labour MP for Newcastle Central gave her backing to UK engineering and manufacturing at a UK Trade and Industry event in Newcastle on Friday (February 27)

The pledge cards and the Institution’s 2015 Engineering Manifesto have been sent to every serving MP and prospective parliamentary candidate in the UK – more than 3,000 in total. 

In the manifesto the Institution vows to work with industry, academia, professional engineering institutions and all the major political parties to put forward a range of solutions to meet our engineering skills gap.

It has been calculated that to maintain economic growth the UK needs to produce 190,000 engineering graduates and technicians every year till 2020. Last year we produced only 51,000 of our 87,000 target for graduates alone.

By working together, the UK can create a platform by 2020 that will increase the number of people entering the profession at both graduate and apprenticeship levels.

Mark Jackson, chairman of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers North East Region, said:

“We are delighted that Chi has become the first MP to sign the pledge and back UK engineering and manufacturing both on a regional and national level.

“Industry is of huge importance to the North East – we’re one of the only areas in the UK to be running a trade surplus, where we export more than we import – so it’s essential that it continues to flourish.”