Call for young to work in the air industry as US dream jet lands

Business Secretary Vince Cable has called on young people to pursue a career in aerospace as he prepared to attend the first day of the Farnborough airshow.

He said the Government would work to expand apprenticeships at advanced and higher levels of aerospace.

Mr Cable was accompanied at the Hampshire show by Business Minister Mark Prisk and was due to tour an Airbus A380 superjumbo.

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The Business Secretary agreed to chair regular meetings with aerospace business leaders to focus on major strategic issues facing the aerospace sector.

He said: "The breadth of expertise in this sector is incredible, but for our industry to maintain its position in the global market, we will need a new generation of inspired workers with the skills and new ideas to push aerospace forwards."

The biennial seven-day show will feature two aircraft making their debuts in the UK, including the Airbus A400M military plane.

The other, the much-delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner passenger plane, touched down in the UK for the first time yesterday.

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Although Boeing is a US industrial giant, the Dreamliner is powered by Rolls-Royce engines and many of its parts are made in the UK. The Dreamliner is trumpeted by US-based Boeing as being lighter and more fuel-efficient than its rivals.

British Airways and Thomson Airways are among the carriers who have ordered the Dreamliner which can seat up to 330 passengers.