New Year, New career - skills campaigns inform thousands across the region

22 January 2019

Now the nation has seen off Blue Monday and you may be re-evaluating your career choice, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (The LEP) is reminding people about the skills and training support on offer.

The LEP's #futuregoals, Discover Digital and Earn it resources are all designed to help people maximise their potential by acquiring the skills they need to secure fulfilling, quality jobs at all stages of life. These initiatives provide opportunities to progress into fields they may not have previously considered and where Leeds City Region employers see recruitment growth.

The #futuregoals campaign was designed by The LEP to inspire young people to make informed choices about careers and training to prepare them for the world of work, especially in growth sectors; Manufacturing and Engineering, Construction, Digital, Health and Social Care, Financial and Professional Services. Last year, 33,000 meaningful encounters between young people and businesses were delivered across the City Region and since 2018, over 95,000 pupil encounters were created.

A group of sixth form students from Abbey Grange secondary school in Leeds recently benefited from these encounters when Kier Construction offered them work experience at their Leeds Thorpe Park offices. The group were able to explore different careers options with the business and one of the students applied for an apprenticeship and following a successful assessment centre process they are now working with Kier.

A local business, Safeguarding Support Limited from Bingley, also found great value in welcoming a young person into their company through their engagement with The LEP's Enterprise Adviser Network. This programme works in partnership with senior business leaders with schools to develop and deliver careers and enterprise engagement plans.

Yvonne Sinclair, Managing Director of Safeguarding Support Limited, said: "As an Enterprise Adviser, I am passionate about raising the aspirations and development of young people and working closely with associate partners GEM Compliance Training, we were keen to offer a young person who, for whatever reason, may be finding it difficult to gain access to the workplace."

"Oliver, a student who recently completed year 11 at local school Tracks Pupil Referral Unit (PRU), has just started a 12-week traineeship programme, designed to help prepare young people to become 'work ready' by providing work-based preparation and training. We are excited to support Oliver and hopefully help him develop and transition to an apprenticeship programme."

Discover Digital engages adults across the region, from graduates to career-changers looking to retrain or upskill into a digital role and to improve their digital skills. The campaign provides a dedicated website to inspire career choices for individuals, where they can engage with businesses and training opportunities. The website has reached over 100,000 people since its launch 6 months ago.

Earn It offers broader careers support and advice for adults wanting to further their training, to retrain or upskill in all the key growth sectors. Over 540,000 people have been reached through the campaign so far, providing individuals with the skills they need to get into employment and to fulfil their career potential.

Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leader of Bradford Council, said: "At this time of year many people take stock of their lives, make resolutions and set new career goals. I would encourage them to use our campaigns to find out about life-changing opportunities that exist right here in Leeds City Region."

"Initiatives such as #futuregoals, Discover Digital and Earn it are designed to provide people of all ages with the information, guidance and inspiration they need to help them realise their full potential. My advice to anyone thinking about a positive change to their job and their life is to seize the opportunity, visit our campaigns and make it a New Year, New Career.

More information about these initiatives can be found at #futuregoals futuregoals.co.uk.