A package of career-related activities has been delivered at the Gainsborough Academy – thanks to a strong partnership with local employers.
The partnership has been a real recipe for success as pupils thinking about their future careers are able to meet employers face to face to ask for advice and guidance.
Joanna Phillips Careers Lead & Assistant Head from the Gainsborough Academy has welcomed the engagement from employers and hopes to build on the success.
She said: “We are so grateful to our local businesses for supporting the Academy’s career events throughout the year as the partnership is mutually beneficial. We get to understand the skills needs of local employers and they get to support us by bringing more relevance to pupils learning, and opening their eyes to different career pathways.”
A number of school assemblies have been held over the last couple of months talking to year groups about job opportunities and skills involved and these were led by Sean Brennan from ACIS Housing and Alan Shaw from AMP Rose Ltd. This accumulated into the annual Careers Fair with an inspiring talk from Alex Nightingale from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (GLLEP).
Alex whose role is Enterprise Co-ordinator, urged pupils to engage with the providers at the event in order to get the most out of it. He said: “I’m pleased we managed to run an introduction to the careers day. I think its important pupils take the time to prepare themselves to engage with employers. Reflecting on their skills and setting aims for the day helped them make the most of the opportunity. It was a great day, all the employers commented on how engaged the students were.”
Colleagues from Eminox, ACIS and Gelder Construction Group attended the event along with AMP Rose who introduced students to a robotic pallet mover to demonstrate technology and engineering. Alan Shaw is their HR Manager and explained how important it is for pupils to feel involved. He said “the awareness of what employers expect from their employees is a learning curve for pupils of all ages. Understanding and knowledge of the workplace and working life is critical in their development and their career aspirations. Planning what they want to do and how to do it needs to be nurtured and encouraged.”
West Lindsey District Council also attended the event to raise awareness of the public sector and as a key employer offering a range of apprenticeships and jobs.
Amanda Bouttell, Senior Project Officer for Employment and Skills, explained why it’s important for the local council to play a role.
She said: “It’s always a pleasure working with the Academy not only as a District Council looking for future employees but helping to ensure we have well-skilled workforce across the district. Collaborating with local businesses is crucial for our young people and we know that the more interventions they have with employers, the better their chances of securing jobs in the future.
“My role is to help facilitate the creation of a highly educated and skilled workforce, that meets the present and future needs of local employers and what better way to do this than by bringing them in to meet pupils. This partnership is a fantastic opportunity to improve access to training and employment for local people.”
Employers have also participated in class-based workshops with Year 10 pupils to help prepare them for work and learn about employability skills. Representatives from Serco delivered a group session on how to put together a CV before pupils went off to separate classrooms to work further on the key employability skills required by employers.
Those attending included: Noble Foods, West Lindsey District Council, Greater Lincolnshire LEP and Serco. Kirsty Black is HR Business Partner at Noble Foods and said: “It was a pleasure to work with the students and help prepare them for employment after school.”