Free conference to address employability skills of young people in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire

Places still remain at a free conference which seeks to address the important issue of young people’s employability skills in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Organisers the D2N2 Enterprise Advisor Network and Destination Chesterfield, are appealing to representatives from education and businesses to attend the free conference, which is being held at Ringwood Hall on Wednesday 19 October 2016 from 8.00am – 10.00am.

The conference follows the launch of the D2N2 Employability Framework at last year’s (2015) Annual Conference of the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership; a private sector-led body which promotes economic growth and jobs creation across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

The Employability Framework – which is being delivered (with £300,000 in support) through the Government-backed Careers & Enterprise Company Enterprise Adviser Network, and D2N2 – seeks to address the mismatch between the employability skills that young people are leaving school with or picking up through post-16 training programmes, against those needed by employers.

While apprenticeship opportunities in the area have increased, a recent D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership report suggests that only 48% of schools are organising visits to local apprenticeship providers, leaving employers struggling to fill apprenticeship vacancies.

The increase in apprenticeship opportunities in the area and less young people to fill them, coupled with the opening of the new University of Derby’s St. Helena campus in Chesterfield, has pushed employability skills to the top of the local agenda.

The conference on October 19 will aim to build stronger links between schools and employers in the area, and help young people better realise their career potential.

Gail Widerman, Director of Placing Futures Ltd, a partner of the D2N2’s Employability Framework said: “We work with both schools and businesses and more and more employers are telling us that they want work ready young people. I am delighted that so many schools and businesses have come on board with Chesterfield’s first Employability Skills Conference and are taking a joint approach to finding a solution and giving young people a very real future in industry.”

Dom Stevens, Destination Chesterfield Manager commented: “With more than £1billion of investment happening in Chesterfield over the next 10 years it is vital that our young people are work ready and have the skills that employers want. Having a pool of work ready employees is one of the key reasons businesses invest in an area and create jobs. The conference is designed to bring together the education and business communities and address the perceived and real skills gaps before they become an issue.”

To attend the free Chesterfield Employability Conference visit http://www.chesterfield.co.uk/events/chesterfield-employability-conference/ Or, to find out more about the D2N2 Employability Framework go to: http://www.d2n2lep.org/skills/employability-framework