Defence Online

Inspiring the next generation of Air and Marine Engineering

Maritime December 16, 2016

Pupils from Ferndown Upper School visited HMS Sultan with the Jon Egging Trust as part of efforts to inspire the next generation of Royal Navy air and marine engineering.

14 pupils from the school spent the day visiting the Defence College of Technical Training’s two Schools within HMS Sultan, the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS) and the Defence School of Marine Engineering (DSMarE).

The Jon Egging Trust was established in memory of Flight Lieutenant Jon Egging, who lost his life whilst completing an air display with the Red Arrows at the Bournemouth Air Festival in 2011. The Trust provides teamwork, leadership, and work experience opportunities to young people.

Tours were given of the facilities with pupils given the chance to get involved in a number of hands-on tasks including the replacement of aircraft components using hand tools, wearing sea survival equipment and boarding a life raft.

Sultan trainees were on hand to talk about their experiences as Air and Marine Engineering technicians on the Royal Navy’s latest helicopters, ships, and submarines.

The youngsters got the opportunity to try out some leadership tasks, improving their communications, confidence, and team building, before visiting the DSMarE where they each got to remove and replace the fuel injector on a small diesel engine.

Jane Edwards, Pastoral Manager at Ferndown Upper said: “The visit has been amazing; I think it’s been very inspirational for young people who don’t have high aspirations about their future careers.

“It gives them a really good insight as to what’s out there especially within the military.”

image (c) crown copyright

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Post written by: Matt Brown