We recently saw the opening of our EEF North headquarters and, to mark the occasion, a very special guest attended to officially cut the ribbon.

The Duke of York, Prince Andrew, visited Gateshead to have the grand tour of our new facilities and to also talk to industry leaders in the region

Left: Prince Andrew pledges his support to the North East manufacturing industry at EEF’s new regional headquarters

Right: The Prince talking to business leaders including Andrew Tuscher, EEF Region Director North, pictured behind Prince Andrew

In an interview with The Journal, the Prince backed the need for more young people to enter manufacturing.

He said;

“I do think there should be more apprentices and I applaud the decision of this Government to increase the number in the workplace.”

The Prince was told that in the next five or 10 years more than half a million people will have to be trained up to meet the demands of manufacturing.

In fact, manufacturing in the North East remains a hugely important contributor to the UK economy and it is estimated that nearly 18% of the North East economy is based on manufacturing, compared to 12% elsewhere.

Formed in 1896, EEF has strong roots embedded within Tyneside and the new base for EEF on the Team Valley supports and reflects some of this engineering heritage and tradition.  

If you’re interested in exploring the benefits EEF could bring to your business why not drop by our new office. Or if you would like to learn more about apprenticeships, please get in touch.