It also announces that numbers of manufacturing apprentices rise by almost 20% in 12 months during campaign
Current apprentice says he loves the industry as ‘engineering runs the world’
Eastern Education Group celebrated National Manufacturing Day by announcing that it has seen an 18% increase in apprenticeship signups during the last 12 months in this specific industry.
National Manufacturing Day is a UK‑wide event where manufacturers invite the public, schools, colleges and jobseekers to explore facilities, learn about modern manufacturing, and discover career pathways – according to the creator of this event – Make UK.
Just six months ago, the Gene Haas Foundation Centre was unveiled during a ceremony held at the University Professional Development Centre in Bury St Edmunds.
The facility – that cost £550k thanks to external investment from the (Gene Haas) foundation and the college group – was set up to help fill huge manufacturing skills gaps.
According to Barclays in 2024, the UK had 61,000 vacancies in manufacturing roles.
The centre was the third of its kind and the first and only one that is housed in the East of England. The original was opened in Nottinghamshire three years ago.
As a result of the centre opening – and also the work of other campuses based throughout Suffolk and Cambridgeshire – Eastern Education Group has enrolled 110 apprentices this summer who work as engineers, machinists and metal fabricators – a significant increase on last year.
Mark Cherry is Eastern Education Group’s Head of Engineering Apprenticeships and Higher Education. He said: “Overall, these figures represent an 18% increase in apprenticeship starts compared to the same point last year. It’s particularly encouraging to see growth in both entry-level opportunities and Higher Education (Level 4+) programmes, demonstrating strong demand across the different levels.
“We also currently have three apprentices in the January pipeline, and we’ll continue building momentum to strengthen those numbers further.”
Dominic Atkinson, 19, from St Neots is one of those new Eastern Education Group apprentices. He works for Supply Plus in Papworth and he loves the industry.
Two days into his college course, he said: “I chose manufacturing as it’s nice to know how everything works through engineering. How small parts can make a big difference and how everything comes together. I find it interesting as it opens doors to new subjects and careers.
On the campaign itself, he added: “I think the campaign is great as it shows the importance of how engineering runs the world in some aspects.”
Richard Stittle is Eastern Education Group’s Director for Business Development. He explains why the college backed the national campaign. Richard said: “The whole idea of National Manufacturing Day is to shine a light on the many and varied roles that are available during a day that helps shine a light on this fantastic industry.
“Through our varied part time and full time courses across our campuses based across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk – including the many apprentices we support at our state of the art Gene Haas Foundation Centre in Bury – we are proud to showcase the amazing work and job opportunities involved in manufacturing via the work that we are doing throughout the year, in support of this great campaign.”
Elsewhere across the group, their centre in North Chatteris Training Centre (NCTC) in Cambridgeshire welcomed a group of students to their facility from Sir Harry Smith Community College to discuss the manufacturing job roles.
And in the afternoon, they hosted an industry event to showcase and promote the many pathways and opportunities that exist in manufacturing.
Also during the day, Make UK (the organisation behind National Manufacturing Day) announced an honours list naming 130 people who are making a difference to support manufacturing in the UK.
Laraine Moody, the Executive Group Principal at Eastern Education Group was named in this list.
