Engineering is an appealing career

This year's event at the company's manufacturing site at Banbury attracted 140 visitors, mainly school students interested in becoming engineering apprentices or taking a graduate route to working in the sector. The evening featured a tour around the entire site, with guests at the event divided into small manageable groups to visit each department, from design to production and from quality control to sales and marketing. A presentation was given by Norbar staff at each point in the tour describing their projects and the priorities of their work. Managing Director Neill Brodey welcomed guests, emphasising the many career paths available in engineering, which the Open Evening was designed to demonstrate. He explained: "We are passionate about engineering and we believe we can provide a showcase of its challenges and opportunities." Representatives from Oxford & Cherwell Valley College, Warwickshire College and Oxford Brookes University were also on hand to provide information on apprenticeships and graduate training programmes. The family-run company has 240 employees and testifies to the success of UK precision engineering, exporting 75% of its production and with a network of Norbar companies worldwide, the latest having been launched this year in Mumbai.