Young people in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire are being offered a boost to their employability skills and being helped onto a fulfilling career path thanks to new funding.
A total of four projects have received a total of £141,000 after successfully bidding from the Careers and Enterprise Fund, which is administered through the Government–backed Careers and Enterprise Company and works to build closer links between schools and employers.
The projects will help schools and students and work alongside the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) – the private-sector led group of businesses, local authorities, skills and training providers, community and social groups, which promotes economic growth across the two counties.
The two projects running in Chesterfield include:
*IntoUniversity Careers Programmes – This will develop students’ awareness of high quality careers through contact with employers; increasing their knowledge of the career paths and opportunities available to them through contact with employers on Business in FOCUS days, Careers in FOCUS programmes, the Corporate Mentoring scheme, and through internships and work experience. It is aimed at students in the D2N2 area and the Solent, Oxfordshire, Leeds City Region, Coast to Capital, the West of England and London areas.
*Founders4Schools – This nationwide scheme aims to provide teacher training workshops to teachers of Year 9 and 10 students in all schools across the LEP’s area; to help increase the number of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) graduates, to close the skills gap. Workshops will provide materials and deliver training to three teachers per school, on how to get local business leaders to visit the teacher’s classroom as role models to help bring subjects to life.
Ian Greenaway, Employability champion for D2N2’s Skills and Employment Commission, said: “It’s great news that D2N2 area schools will benefit from Careers and Enterprise Company support around careers, enterprise and employability.
“It means young people across the D2N2 area of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire getting help on developing skills, gaining knowledge and becoming ‘work ready’ at the beginning of their careers. D2N2 and its stakeholders will work with the organisations offering employability training to schools, to provide a joined up solution.”
Mike Hughes, Executive Director at Twenty Twenty, added: “Too many 15 to 18-year-olds in the D2N2 area are struggling to thrive in mainstream education, feel stranded without the qualifications for college or the skills and experience employers require, and don’t know what to do next.
“Our motto is that all young people are resources to be developed not problems to be solved. So we’re really looking forward to working closely with the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, along with the Enterprise Adviser Network, to target support where it’s needed most and make a measurable difference.
Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of the Careers & Enterprise Company, said: “We were delighted to award funding to Think Forward, TwentyTwenty, Into University Careers, and Founders4Schools, as part of our Careers & Enterprise Investment Fund.”
She added: “We believe these outstanding programmes will use our funding to help ensure every young person across Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire can transition successfully from education to work.”
The D2N2 LEP is already working with the Careers & Enterprise Company on a £300,000 Enterprise Adviser Network project to match up to 80 schools across its area with a volunteer business advisor in order to champion employability and careers at schools.
For more information about the Careers & Enterprise Company visit www.careersandenterprise.co.uk
To learn more about D2N2’s work on skills see its website at www.d2n2lep.org/skills
