Member Article

About 60,000 students received vital careers experience in C&W

About 60,000 students in Coventry and Warwickshire have been prepared for the world of work this year, a major event was told.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs, which were launched by The Careers & Enterprise Company, have worked with 81 schools and colleges since they were established in the area in 2019.

The Careers Hubs give schools and colleges the chance to link up with employers, training organisations, colleges, universities, and career professionals so that pupils have information about all the options that are available when they leave education and the different career paths they want to pursue.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs, which receives funding from Think Higher Coventry and Warwickshire, which is a partnership of local higher and further education providers and local authorities, are supported by the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership.

The Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs organised its Celebration Event at Coventry University Technology Park to recognise the work of schools, employers and colleagues who are supporting careers education for young people in the area.

Matt Alvarez, Coventry & Warwickshire Careers Hubs lead, said this had been a fantastic opportunity to highlight the impact of its work.

He said: “We had originally planned to hold our Celebration Event last year but that had to be cancelled due to the pandemic so this has been our first chance to re-arrange it.

“It was a great opportunity to hear about the progress of the Careers Hubs in Coventry and Warwickshire over the last two years as well as meet a large cross-section of employers, stakeholders and influencers that support careers education.

“Work experience has been pretty non-existent since Covid-19 began but our virtual events and the materials we have put together for careers education teachers to access to ensure students have as much high-quality information as possible has been really important in making sure young people are aware of the options available to them.

“Ensuring young people in our area are ready for the world of work in their chosen path is extremely important for their wellbeing and for employers who are looking to recruit the next generation.

“We wanted this event to act as an inspiration and motivation to continue or broaden the support for young people from those responsible for careers education in their schools and colleges in Coventry and Warwickshire so that students can make informed choices about their next steps.”

Marion Plant, chair of CWLEP’s Productivity and Skills Business Group, added: “Providing good jobs and levelling-up opportunities is one of the key aspects of CWLEP’s Strategic Reset Framework.

“To achieve this we need to make sure young people in Coventry and Warwickshire are armed with information to make informed choices about their careers and providing quality careers education is vital so that they acquire the skills which employers need.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Joyce .