News story: Alun Cairns joins Aston Martin to promote careers in STEM to St Athan pupils

Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns joined engineering apprentices from Aston Martin to promote the value of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subject careers to pupils from St Athan Primary School on Monday 25 September.

This came as the luxury car manufacturer announced last year that its first Welsh-made cars will roll out of the St Athan factory in 2019, creating around 750 new jobs in the Vale of Glamorgan site, with a likely further 1,000 across the supply chain and local businesses.

Pupils were excited to come face to face with the brand new DB11 model and a Rapide S, as they learnt more about the work of the apprentices and history of the firm. Apprentices Luca Freemantle, Varun Mudan and Neath-born Adam Hill spoke to pupils about the company’s four-year scheme, and how they were looking forward to moving into the Welsh site over the next couple of years.

The new St Athan site will manufacture two four door models exclusive to Wales; the Rapide E electric model and the DBX, Aston Martin’s first ‘crossover’ sports utility vehicle.

Secretary of State for Wales Alun Cairns said:

Aston Martin’s move to Wales is hugely significant in making St Athan an important centre of employment, bringing with it valuable skills and a lasting legacy for the entire region.

I hope that pupils like these will take an interest in STEM subjects to become the apprentices, manufacturers and business leaders of the future, contributing to the UK’s rich automotive export history, and making Wales a great place to invest and do business.

Aston Martin’s decision to invest in Wales shows that we are creating and supporting the right conditions for industry investment. The UK Government’s comprehensive industrial strategy will build on that success, ensuring that we have the right infrastructure, skills and support in place for our world-leading industries as well as support for new emerging sectors to flourish.