The Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, has made a visit to Mitsubishi Electric's facility in Livingston, West Lothian.

The trip, which involved Mr Mundell touring the engineering facility as well as meeting engineers and apprentices, forms part of the UK Government's Year of Engineering campaign to highlight opportunities in the engineering industry for young people.

2018 is officially the Year of Engineering and will see a national drive in all corners of the country to inspire young people to think of a career in engineering.

Despite being one of the most productive sectors in the UK, there is a shortfall of 20,000 engineering graduates and with a lack of diversity in the sector (91% male, 94% white) the new campaign aims to fill gaps and tackle misconceptions in the industry.

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Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "It was great to be at Mitsubishi Electric to promote the UK Government's Year of Engineering campaign and see engineers and apprentices in action.

"Scotland has a world class engineering sector which makes a major contribution to the UK's economy. But there is a shortage of young people entering the profession in the UK and a lack of diversity. Our campaign will help address these challenges by increasing the understanding and awareness of this exciting career among young people and deliver a new generation of talented engineers."

Yoshihiro Sumida, company president of Mitsubishi Electric Air Conditioning Systems Europe (M-ACE) said: "Our Corporate Mission is to continually improve our technologies and services by applying creativity to all aspects of our business. Advanced Engineering is obviously a key to this as well as to the growth of our business here in Scotland.

"In this context we operate a well-established engineering apprenticeship programme in our factory, with the valued support of West Lothian College. I welcome the UK emphasis on improving engineering skills and we as a company will keep making contributions to this end."

(LM)