On Thursday the 5th of March the Minister for Universities and Science, Greg Clark, visited the National Space Centre in Leicester, to sign a Growth Deal for Leicester and Leicestershire that will see up to 3000 new jobs and 1300 new homes created.
As well as meeting the National Space Centre's Chief Executive, Chas Bishop, and the Leicester's City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby, the Minister was also invited to meet students studying on the Space Engineering Level 3 course, who have their lessons at the National Space Centre on Thursdays.
He spent half an hour talking to the course tutors and the students themselves about the course and their next steps. Many of the students are interested in going on to study physics or engineering at university, but a number are planning on applying for apprenticeships in either aerospace or space engineering. As the Minister discovered, it is the combination of the academic A Level qualifications and the hands on project work of the Level 3 Engineering BTEC that attract such students to the course.
The students were happy to welcome the Minister into their class as it gave them the opportunity to air their views on career pathways and the skills required for the UK space sector, something that the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) is keen to support.