Senior Government Minister hears young people’s aspirations for future as funding announced

Young people from as far away as Dumfries and Galloway gathered at Crewe Toll for the Scottish Robotic Games finals. They put their hard-won engineering skills on display, with flourishes of risky manoeuvres and daring tackles in a series of football tournaments and obstacle course challenges. Other activities included a Typhoon Virtual Reality headset to show students how the RAF’s fleet is maintained and a demonstration of pre-coded robots, to introduce the pupils to the fun of coding and software.

Over the course of the year, STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) mentors from Leonardo in Edinburgh have been coaching the students in the construction of the robots using special robot kits. The school children are encouraged to customise their design to maximise their robots performance, all part of the wider development of their confidence in engineering.

The senior minister learned about their respective engineering journeys in the creation of their robots, which led to the rich variety of sometimes exotic robots on colourful display.

A Leonardo STEM Ambassador describes why fun and accessible activities play such an important role in building confidence in engineering.

Over the years, the company’s early careers intake has frequently featured those whose first taste of engineering was their participation in the Scottish Robotic Games and who hosted a new generation today.

The visit follows the recent launch of a new RUSI (Royal United Services Institute) report at Westminster hosted by Leonardo, which confirmed the far-reaching impact of the defence pound on local communities.

The Chief Secretary to the Treasury has responsibility for capital investment, driving private sector investment in infrastructure and value for money on large national infrastructure projects. He was briefed on the job creation and community development that has been generated by Leonardo in Edinburgh over the decades and the advanced engineering and manufacturing skills that are being nurtured at every level of the business from new intakes to experienced engineers.

During the visit, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury confirmed that the UK Government has committed £204.6M of further funding towards the production of the advanced new radar for the Royal Air Force (RAF)’s Eurofighter Typhoon combat aircraft.

Apprentices shared details of the diverse ways that they have increased their skill sets since joining Leonardo.

The new radar built by engineers at the Leonardo site at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh, is known as the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2 and will equip Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots with advanced technology to enhance their situational awareness.

The funding follows the publication of the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review, which highlighted the importance of innovation to UK security. The ECRS Mk2 radar project is directly supporting 600 jobs across UK industry including more than 400 at Leonardo and 120 at BAE Systems.