Aerospace Minister Richard Harrington met highly skilled workers at Thales at its site in Crawley as the Government unveiled its ambitious Industrial Strategy.
To mark the launch of the Strategy, Aerospace Minister Richard Harrington met workers at Thales, a global leader in the aerospace, transport, defence, security and space sectors.
During the visit, the Aerospace Minister toured the company’s manufacturing floor while meeting some of the company’s 2,000 staff, working in highly skilled, advanced manufacturing roles at its Manor Royal base.
He also had the opportunity to see some of the company’s flight simulators, which are used to train pilots for defence purposes, and saw the market-leading technology being developed which will allow passengers to use services such as Skype and television streaming services while in the air.
The Minister met young people benefitting from The Prince’s Trust’s engineering programme, which is being run in conjunction with Thales, to enable young, local people from disadvantaged backgrounds to get experience in engineering.
Harrington said: “Our ambitious Industrial Strategy sets out a long-term plan to boost productivity and earning power across all regions of the country.
“The work being done at Thales is world-leading and exactly the sort of highly skilled work that gives people opportunities and helps our economy to thrive.
“I am particularly impressed by the work that Thales and The Prince’s Trust are doing in collaboration to inspire young people from the area to consider a career in engineering.
“Giving young people the skills they need for careers of the future is key to driving up productivity and ensuring people can reach their full potential.”
Victor Chavez, chief executive at Thales in the UK, said: “Thales welcomes the government’s Industrial Strategy which sets out a foundation for strengthening the UK’s productivity with a focus on digital transformation.
“Transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, cyber security and digital connectivity are key areas of investment for Thales and are fundamental to not only our competitiveness, but also that of our customers.”
