Interns at B/E Aerospace in Kilkeel, where around a third of the world’s commercial aircraft seating is manufactured, have been giving local school pupils an unusual insight into the world of work.
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B/E Aerospace Intern David Stephenson, an ‘old boy’ of Kilkeel High School was delighted to join Paolo Ross in welcoming some of the school’s sixth formers to his current workplace. Pictured, from left, are Kilkeel High School teacher Alan Crutchley with pupils, John Patterson, Ben Gadd and Matthew Graham.[/caption]The Interns who are currently on Student or Graduate placements with the company, worked with Business in the Community’s ’Inspire to Aspire’ initiative to create a unique ‘show and tell’ careers experience, welcoming the sixth formers into the Kilkeel facility.
More than eight hundred people work in the factory which is part of the global B/E Aerospace organisation and their roles reflect the diverse disciplines needed to create and engineer the company’s products for export around the world.
Cool FM’s Paolo Ross, who comes from nearby Ardglass, joined the informal factory tour before chairing a fast-paced ‘Question Time’ which put employees in the firing line for career questions from pupils and teachers.
PHOTOS FROM THE STEM DAY AT B/E AEROSPACE
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Trying out some of the seating is Shimna Integrated College student, James Forte, pictured with Paolo Ross and explaining the production processes, Jonathan McAuley from B/E Aerospace.[/caption]The visitors then faced a light-hearted design and build exercise, tasked with the challenge of creating their own aircraft seating for ‘Barbie’ and ‘Ken’, with prizes for the design which proved the most robust, attractive and lightweight.
Keith Anderson, Business Unit Director, B/E Aerospace Kilkeel, was delighted to roll out the welcome mat for the visiting sixth formers. He said: “Our ‘Inspire to Work’ programme has developed into a highly successful bi-annual event, providing some of Northern Ireland’s brightest sixth formers with an early insight into an industry in which they could one day build their careers. Our Interns are ideally placed to relate to our young visitors and it is a pleasure to see the shared enthusiasm for STEM in action in the workplace.
“I hope that the sixth formers from our neighbouring schools of Kilkeel High School and St Columban’s College, also in Kilkeel, and Shimna Integrated College, just down the road in Newcastle, were inspired by what they saw – their curiosity and willingness to learn certainly inspired us!
“We are a constantly growing company with great career openings at a huge range of levels so we’d like to think that some of the young people who took part in our Inspire To Work Day may at some stage return to B/E Aerospace as employees.”
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