The Braintree District Careers Fair opened its doors to over 1,000 students from local secondary schools last week, showcasing information and advice on post 16 opportunities.
The annual event, held on Wednesday 26th September at Chelmsford City Racecourse, gave Year 11 students from schools across the district the opportunity to meet and have one-to-one discussions with local and national universities, colleges, employers, as well as apprenticeship and training providers.
90 employers from a range of industries including Health, Construction, Engineering and Financial Services were on hand to speak to the students looking to find out future job and training opportunities available to them.
The event was organised by the Braintree IAG Cluster Group, which brings together Braintree District Council, Colchester Institute, Directions IAG Ltd and the seven secondary schools across the district, to deliver and support sustained activities for students in the Braintree District.
Councillor Tom Cunningham, Cabinet Member for Economic Development at Braintree District Council, said: “This careers fair provided a fantastic opportunity for students to connect with local and national employers from a range of sectors to help them find their next career path once they leave school. We’re committed to developing a prosperous district that attracts business growth and provides high quality employment opportunities, and as part of this we recognise that ensuring students have the knowledge to make well informed post 16 education and careers choice is vital.”
James Cleverly MP for Braintree, said: “We have so many great local employers, in a wide range of sectors, looking to take on staff. Whether people are looking for a first job, a better job, or returning to work after a break it’s a great event to come to.”
Clare Pipe, Careers Co-ordinator at Alec Hunter Academy and Lynne Pembroke, Careers Adviser at Directions IAG Ltd, said: “We have worked extremely hard to ensure another high quality event. This year the event has proved even more popular with nearly 90 exhibitors wanting to attend. We need funding to continue each year, as this will enable us to encourage more students from the Braintree district to think about Higher Education in the future, as well as looking at their options for Further Education & Apprenticeships taking into account the local labour market needs.”
The event was funded by Make Happen and Braintree District Education and Skills Board.
Make Happen is the National Collaborative Outreach Programme (NCOP) for the Essex consortium. They are government funded and work with a range of partners including Essex County Council, Southend and Thurrock Borough Council's and colleges throughout the county. The programme aims to raise young peoples’ aspirations and help them through the maze of choices and decisions to higher education (degrees and apprenticeships) and ultimately into a career of their choice.