North East event showcases opportunities and careers in engineering

The Engineering the Future: Compound Semiconductors event, hosted in Durham, showcased pathways into electronics and engineering to careers advisors, education professionals and STEM pathway representatives.

There is currently a shortage of well-skilled engineers and technical staff entering the compound semiconductor industry and a critical need to attract more students to study electronics and engineering.

Engineering the Future: Compound Semiconductors aimed to highlight engineering opportunities within the region and replicate the success of a similar event, hosted by project partner Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult in South Wales.

During the event, hosted by the ORanGaN project, organisations based in the North East outlined the skills and attributes they look for when hiring new members of the team.

As a result of the event, the project consortium plan to keep momentum going by highlighting the career opportunities within their workplace and the wider industry.

Speakers from organisations such as North East Satellite Applications Centre of Excellence (NEAME), INEX Microtechnology, Viper RF, Pragmatic, North East Institute of Technology and Tridonic presented during the event as well as participated in a panel discussion.

The event was funded by the ORanGaN project, who are developing a new sovereign supply chain to develop the UK’s first radio frequency (RF) gallium nitride (GaN) products and devices to be used in 5G communications such as mobile phones.

The ORanGaN project will provide more security for UK manufacturers, more export opportunities for hardware manufacturers and will enhance 5G infrastructure and resilience within the UK, helping to grow the UK economy.

Skills Academy Manager at CSA Catapult, Alexandra Leadley, said: “As CSA Catapult expands its work into the North East of England, we were keen to work alongside local organisations, and businesses, to provide an event aimed at careers advisors, teachers, and young people.

We know that raising the profile and showcasing the opportunities of the compound semiconductor industry, is important to decreasing the skills shortage. If we can demystify the world of semiconductors and illustrate how critical they are to everyday technology, we will hopefully begin to get the message across that there can be a long term, highly skilled and valued career in the UK, regardless of your educational pathway.”