The secretary of state for Wales David Jones will visit Airbus's headquarters in Toulouse, France over two days, starting tomorrow (October 10th).

During this occasion, Mr Jones will meet with Lord Green, the minister of state for trade and investment, and figures from ADS - a trade body seeking to advance the aerospace, defence, security and space industries.

This comes after the National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme was launched - managed by the Aerospace Growth Partnership and ADS - and it aims to solve the skills shortages in the sector.

Mr Jones commented on the UK's contributions to the aerospace industry, stating that "everyone who travels on an Airbus aircraft anywhere in the world is flying on wings designed in Britain and manufactured in Wales".

Airbus has a manufacturing centre in Broughton, Wales which employs more than 6,000 people. In September, it invested £70 million in restoring its old headquarters in Bristol and this location will house 300 engineers as part of a new business park.

The company also recently received a £5.9 billion order for 31 A350's from Japan Airlines - both its biggest order for the plane this year and the largest recorded demand from a Japanese carrier.