Groundbreaking Lancashire scheme praised for boosting young people's skills and nurturing vital talent for future
Innovative work to boost employment skills in Lancashire has been hailed for developing ‘key employability skills’ and confidence in young people locally.
Lancashire County Council's Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub has joined forces with employers, partners, schools, colleges and other stakeholders to shape skills and employment needs in line with the local labour market needs.
Supporting 162 secondary schools including special schools and alternative provision, the Hub is carrying out a huge range of activities to achieve this goal, funded by the Department for Education, the Careers and Enterprise Company and upper tier local authorities.
These include school visits to the Hub, animations of the digital, green and cyber sectors, 150 business volunteers working on careers programmes with schools and colleges, one-day teacher placements in industry and an incisive careers survey for pupils.
Meanwhile, other opportunities have included a post 16 pilot scheme for apprenticeships and the LCC funded Young Apprenticeship Grant programme, which has awarded more than 140 grants to help small and medium businesses recruit 16-30 year olds. Also on the menu is the Lancashire Cyber Partnership, working with the National Cyber Force, the Department of Innovation, Science and Technology and education providers to launch a trial Further Education Bursary scheme with MOD UK Strategic Command to highlight digital roles in defence.
Pupils from Garstang Community Academy were among the young people to benefit from the Lancashire Careers Hub when they got a taste of working life during a visit to it in Lancaster earlier this year.
Pupil Riley Cornall said:
“It was an engaging experience with employers of a digital industry, where you would be tasked to compose a slideshow giving informative information about a digital business. We were permitted to use online devices to assist us with our research, then put it into a presentation.”
Student Martha Carr said:
“I enjoyed presenting to the businesses and I enjoyed putting the PowerPoint together and working with new people.”
Paula Askew, Garstang Community Academy careers adviser, said:
“It was amazing to see our pupils grow in confidence... Every student stood up and presented at the end of the project and although many found this a scary prospect, they all did themselves very proud. This opportunity has undoubtedly raised their awareness of careers within the digital sector whilst developing some key employability skills.”
Satinder Singh, headteacher of Garstang Community Academy, said:
“The students were fabulous, and it was a brilliant experience for them to be a part of, which will prepare them for the real-world.”
Adults have also benefitted from the Adult Skills Forum which helps unemployed and economically inactive people to upskill, and from more than 50 local Lancashire Skills Boot camps helping unemployed people, self-employed people, and companies, with 889 local people taking part in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Multiply, a ground breaking scheme for adults who want to improve their grasp of numeracy in every day life, has also been a huge success, with over 9,000 Lancashire residents getting help to improve their abilities in budgeting, managing finances, and even assisting children with homework.
Now a host of exciting initiatives are in the pipeline, including a 'World of Work' week that will link young people to work places and future careers, and the Convention of the North in Preston in March 2025.
County Councillor Jayne Rear, cabinet member for Education and Skills, said:
“It has been a delight to see young people engaged with the employers and finding out about companies and jobs that are new to them, and inspire them with ideas about what they can do in the future.
“I would like to thank all our partners – schools, colleges, employers and stakeholders - that have supported and are continuing to support us on connecting people to the workplace experience.
“It is vital that employers and partners work with us and the schools and colleges to bring to life the world of work – to inspire young people and to help build their future talent pipeline.
"These experiences are hugely impactful for young people, adults and for all of our local people, and give purpose to their life long, educational journey. We encourage employers and businesses across Lancashire to get involved and to sign up to the Lancashire Skills Pledge.
"We are making significant strides in aligning skills and employment opportunities with local labour market needs. These initiatives not only prepare our young people for future job opportunities but also re-engage and enable adults to boost their skills and their employment prospects, meaning that Lancashire jobs can be filled by Lancashire people, making the most of our county's great potential."