STUDENTS have enjoyed a taste of working life at a robotics manufacturing lab in North Yorkshire.

Labman, in Seamer Hill, near Stokesley, invited students from Stokesley School and Sixth Form College to see its facilties for design and manufacture of bespoke robotic automation systems for the laboratory, industrial and medical industries.

Sean Devereux, project manager, himself an alumni of Stokesley School, kindly invited the students to visit to experience, first-hand, the realities of working in an engineering and design business.

The visiting students, aged 11 to 16, all have an interest in engineering and STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Mr Devereux and his colleague Matt Smith, explained the various routes for employment, from apprenticeships to university entrants.

Janine Harrison-Henry, careers leader at Stokesley School, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students, visiting a company that not only leads in innovation in their field but demonstrates fabulous employee engagement and corporate social responsibility. Labman are great supporters of Stokesley School, offering work experience and regularly contributing to our careers’ events. We look forward to more of our students starting a career with Labman.”

The students were inspired by Andrew Whitwell, Labman’s Managing Director, who spent time explaining the key attributes, such as good communication skills, that will help them succeed in their working lives. He captivated the students with an entertaining presentation. His passion for engineering and the wellbeing of his staff was infectious, leaving a lasting impression on many of the students, who agreed that Labman was the type of company they would like to work for.

Sean concluded: “It was a pleasure to host the visit for Stokesley School and we hope the students left knowing that a career in specialist engineering and technology is on their doorstep. We hope we’ll see some of them returning to Labman for work experience in the future.”