Stationary Engine Magazine No.477 Armstrong Siddeley Back Issue

Don Griffiths of the Bridgend College, Coleg, Penybont, South Wales has been in contact to advise Stationary Engine readers that the college is looking to offer Evening Classes to those wishing
to learn or to brush-up their engineering skills. These classes will be on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm to 9pm. If you are interested, further details can be obtained from Peter Doyle on 01656 302230 or 07813465948, Dan Griffiths on 07790578604 or Jon Preece on 01656 302418. We often hear comments stating that British industry is a shadow of what it was in the past, and that we as a nation, have lost (or abandoned?) much of our former engineering skills and capabilities. While
this may be true, (although personally I cannot comment as to why this has happened as I have never been involved in engineering) and with fewer and fewer companies taking on youngsters
as apprentices over recent years in what for convenience sake I will call heavy industry, this is primarily due to cost; it being far cheaper in the short term to purchase ready-made imported goods.
In the days when ‘heavy engineering’ employed a large percentage of the UK workforce, engineering skills were required if one wished to progress in one’s career rather than doing just the most menial of jobs. However, whatever one’s personal opinions are with regards to why Britain is
no longer leading the world in engineering as it did a generation or two ago, we have to face the fact that things have changed, whether we like it or not. It is therefore encouraging to hear that
the Bridgend College is offering Evening Classes in Engineering. I am sure that Bridgend is not the only Technical College to offer courses covering engineering, so if you attend such a college or have done so in the past, please let me know, tell me about your experiences and I will give them a mention.