Students from Renfrewshire schools recently had a look into Scotland's life and chemical sciences and advanced manufacturing industries.

More than 200 pupils from 11 Renfrewshire secondary schools attended the event earlier this month, which was organised by the Renfrewshire Local Employability Partnership (RLEP) with technology innovation centre CPI and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) at CPI's Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre.

The event aimed to provide students with a better understanding of the industries and the various routes into these sectors.

Students heard from young people currently undertaking apprenticeships or studying at college and university.

(Image: Skills Development Scotland)

Employers such as Causeway Therapeutics, Peak Scientific, Terumo Aortic, and the Scottish Leather Group were present, along with Strathclyde University, University of the West of Scotland (UWS), and West College Scotland.

Milo Sneddon, an S5 student at Park Mains High School, said: "The event opened my eyes to the number of ways to get into a career in STEM, such as apprenticeship, university, college or straight from school."

Milo (Image: Skills Development Scotland)

Councillor Andy Steel, convener of economy and regeneration policy board at Renfrewshire Council, said: "It's fantastic for our pupils to gain such valuable insight into exciting industries like advanced manufacturing and life and chemical sciences - and I hope they are now aspiring to have a career in one of these fields."

Stewart McKinlay, director of the Manufacturing Skills Academy at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, said: “The NMIS Manufacturing Skills Academy is excited to be involved in Renfrewshire Employability week and we were delighted to welcome the next generation of potential engineers, technicians, and researchers through our doors."

The event also included virtual reality learning with the RESILIENCE team and a tour of the NMIS Learning Curve.