Engineering growth for the future

4 February 2015

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There is no easy fi x to this problem so it's important that any future training programmes are developed in close consultation with industry, schools and colleges if we want them to make a real and lasting impact," explains Michelle Richmond from the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).


Richmond was responding to the launch of a new "national mission" unveiled in England by Labour leader Ed Miliband to train up thousands of female engineers.

She adds: "It's great to see that Ed Miliband is making plans to tackle the engineering skills shortage. This is a very signifi cant problem, contributing to skills shortages, which damage the economy.

"The diffi culty in attracting women into engineering is down to a combination of things: from the careers advice girls are given in schools, to schools not instilling girls with the confi dence to opt for science and maths at A-level, through to employers needing to do more to make their approach to recruitment and retention more female friendly."

While Richmond's comments on Miliband's plans are UK-centric, the subject of women in engineering is clearly a global issue. In 2015, Hoist will be taking a closer look at the role of women in the overhead lifting sector so if you wish to discuss the matter and feature in the magazine, please contact us on the details to your left.

Elsewhere in this issue of Hoist, we speak to Straightpoint, the load monitoring technology specialist, which has targeted 30% annual growth in its US operation as part of a fi ve-year expansion strategy at the UKheadquartered business.

We also catch up with Arbil, which is coming off the back of its 50th anniversary in 2013, is ending this year on a high after securing Tractel and Enerpac accreditation and calibration centre statuses. It also has invested in the refurbishment of fi ve wire rope machines, in addition to the successful launch of the Crosby Platinum range. We take a closer look on page 37.

Finally this month, and somewhat fi ttingly, we speak to Street Crane, which has revealed that it has fulfi lled yet another major order for its overhead crane technology. Street confi rmed that Tata Group has invested £1.5m on four 12 tonne SWL overhead travelling cranes for its steel distribution centre at Redcar, England.

The depot refi t project, which has taken place in Teeside, was undertaken to improve material processing and boost turnaround times at the centre, which is one of 49 Tata operates nationwide. That marks an impressive end of the year for a company that has gone from strength-to-strength in 2014.

Best of luck to everyone in 2015, which I am sure will be a prosperous year for this fantastic industry.