Over 2000 people attend Airbus Apprentice Day

The careers information day took place last Saturday with over 2000 people taking the opportunity to get more information on the range of programmes including apprenticeships, graduate programmes and internships.

Current Airbus apprentices and graduates were on hand to share their experience, along with the team managing the programmes.

Information on a range from craft apprenticeships which lead onto roles as aircraft fitters to recruitment of engineering and business graduates who work on or support some of the most cutting edge aircraft programmes were on show.

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami MP and Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Nia Griffith, paid a visit to Airbus in Broughton ahead of the apprentice day.

The politicians were joined by Airbus apprentices where they emphasised the importance of manufacturing to the economy,

Mark Tami MP said;

“We are very lucky to have such an established global brand in Alyn and Deeside. The manufacturing industry is still extremely influential to the UK’s economy; and Airbus’ contribution to this is key. It is great to welcome Nia Griffith to the site in Broughton, a senior figure who also recognises the importance of companies like Airbus to our economy. It was also very refreshing to speak to Airbus apprentices who represent the future of the manufacturing industry.”

Although the manufacturing industry’s contribution to the UK GDP has fallen since its heyday in the 1970s, it still accounts for 10% of national economic output. The UK is currently the 11th largest manufacturing nation in the world and this is due to the contribution of companies like Airbus; with the UK ranking second globally in aerospace manufacturing.

This picture of an Airbus A380 wing in all its glory was sent to us today.

The Pictures sent to us by regular Deeside.com correspondent Richard Davies via twitter (@JiGSAW_72 Avid mobile speed camera reporter!) shows a 36.3m long wing weighing in at around 33 tons, the finished wing is transported down the River Dee on the specially-built barge which features a similar hull design to an aircraft carrier (makes sense!) to reduce wake as it travels up the river.

The super jumbo wing will then be loaded onto an Airbus roll-on-roll-off ship in the port Mostyn, it’ll be transported to the French port of Pauillac, near Bordeaux then onto Toulouse for assembly.

Afon Dyfrdwy (River Dee in Welsh) was designed and built by Merseyside shipbuilder McTay Marine Ltd, the vessel is a highly manoeuvrable, shallow draft, motor barge capable of transporting a single wing on its supporting jig for the 18 mile journey downstream to the Port of Mostyn from the Load Out Facility at Broughton.

image: maritimejournal

Airbus A380 Key facts on Wikipedia.