Ben Townsend, aged 21, who works as an apprentice patternmaker at Advanced Insulation has rubbed shoulders with the UK’s foremost manufacturing leaders at The Manufacturer’s Top 100 event, celebrating the most dynamic innovators in manufacturing at the National Exhibition Centre in Liverpool.
Nominated by a member of the EEF, the manufacturer’s organisation, Ben was announced as a member of the UK’s 100 most inspiring and influential individuals at the launch of the Manufacturer
Top 100 2018 report.
The Manufacturer Top 100 initiative, now in its fifth year, is run by The Manufacturer Magazine, in partnership with Cranfield University. Its goal is to help dispel popularly-held myths that position manufacturing in the UK as a thing of the past.
Ben Townsend, Apprentice Patternmaker at Advanced Insulation, commented, “I am hugely grateful to the EEF for nominating me as an inspiring figure within the manufacturing industry. To be featured and spoken about in the same breath as some of the industry’s most prominent CEOs is completely surreal for me and a huge honour. I hope to continue to champion the apprenticeship route and demonstrate what can be achieved through this medium.” Members of the 2018 Top 100 included McLaren Automotive Operations Director, Alan Foster; Dr. HayaatunSillem, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Stephen Phipson, CEO of the EEF.
Nick Peters, Editorial Director of The Manufacturer added, “The individual stories in the report published today are a compelling reminder of how strong and vibrant UK manufacturing really is.
“We need to keep saying that, because as a nation we seem to harbour the notion that no one in the UK makes things anymore, and young people are discouraged from considering careers in manufacturing. “The truth is we do make things – we are in the world’s ninth largest manufacturing nation – and careers are very well paid. But there are too few skilled young people coming through the system. It is on behalf of that new generation that we do this.
“We want to break the decades-old prejudice against manufacturing. We want parents to get excited about recommending a career in manufacturing to their offspring, not see it (so erroneously) as an occupation of last resort. We must not let the prejudices of yesterday poison the opportunities of tomorrow.”
A full download of the report is available on The Manufacturer website .
For more information please visit: www.advancedinsulation.com
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