A HIGHLY-SKILLED engineering employee who was made redundant just days before Christmas has been given new hope after major employees showed an interest in signing him up.

Having worked for Siemens for almost 20 years, Daniel Fox was "heartbroken" when he was told, just four days before Christmas, that he was one of 20 employees being made redundant following a downturn in the global oil and gas industry.

Mr Fox, of Byron Street in Ulverston, first started for the firm aged 21 when it was called Tronic, which was bought out by Expro and later by Siemens, and worked his way up the ladder to become a quality control inspector.

"Being made redundant at my age, and after working for the same company for the vast majority of my career, was daunting," the 41-year-old said.

"It was heartbreaking, just before Christmas, the timing could have been better.

"You do feel a little bit like you've been thrown on the scrapheap because after that length of time you don't really know what to do but I prefer to look at it as a new chapter in my life."

Mr Fox was one of 20 former Siemens employees who were invited to an event organised by careers and development organisation Inspira, in conjunction with Siemens and a host of local employers.

More than 12 major firms, including BAE Systems, Oxley and GSK met with the former Siemens workers in a bid to attract them to any current vacancies.

"It was absolutely fantastic," Mr Fox said.

"Inspira did all the legwork and it was great to get out there and listen to companies tell us what they have to offer and how our skills could be transferable."

Since the event, held at Abbey House Hotel in Barrow last week, Mr Fox has been contacted by a number of firms and hopes to be able to apply for a number of jobs.

He will also be taking part in Inspira's personal development programme, The Key, which has been tailored to help people into work based around the transferable skills employers need.

Mike Henry, general manager at Siemens Subsea in Ulverston said: "We really value the assistance that Inspira is providing in helping us support our employees at this difficult time.

"We particularly appreciate the involvement of all the other local companies who have participated in today’s event and the potential new opportunities for those Siemens employees who are regrettably facing redundancy due to the slowdown in the oil and gas market."