By Cathy Sheel, Manchester Chamber

THE number of school leavers across Greater Manchester training to become engineers is at an all time low, according the chief executive of a local training organisation.

Tony Egerton, of the Stockport Engineering Training Association (SETA), says the shortage of trainees is posing a serious problem for the local manufacturing industry as it struggles to recruit skilled engineers.

SETA, the biggest engineering training centre in south Manchester, has capacity for more than 100 apprentice engineers. This year only 41 youngsters were recruited onto the modern apprenticeship course œ a record low.

And it's not just the shortage of apprentices, which is exacerbating the problem within the industry.

The association is also struggling to recruit experienced trainers and estimates that within 12 years up to half of its trainer posts will be vacant as staff retire and cannot be replaced.

Chief Executive of SETA, Tony Egerton said: "Local companies decide who they are going to take on and we take the trainees through their modern apprenticeships.

Education

The problem is that many of the young people we want to attract into the industry - those with four GCSEs or more - are staying on at school or pursuing other courses.

"They don't see an engineering apprenticeship as a career option to further education.

"When we go into schools, young people don't see the relevance of engineering - especially girls."

Despite equality of opportunity, the numbers of girls attracted to the industry is also on the decline. "A few years ago around 10 per cent of our recruits were girls, that figure is now around one per cent. Girls still see engineering as a man's job," Tony added.

The shortage of new blood entering the industry is pushing up pay rates for experienced engineers. And this is increasing the cost for apprentice training - putting pressure on associations like SETA.

Established in 1966 as one of the original industry trainers in the area, SETA is guaranteeing its future success by diversifying into other training markets.

"We have become one of the top health and safety trainers in Greater Manchester," Tony explained. "And we are also earning a good reputation abroad with clients in Saudi Arabia, Greece and Morocco."