Apprentice Town

Offering opportunities for local apprentices

5th March 2019

This National Apprenticeship Week, Chesterfield residents are benefitting from apprentice opportunities thanks to Chesterfield Borough Council’s involvement in the Apprentice Town initiative.

National Apprenticeship week runs from 4 to 8 March and celebrates the work carried out by apprentices of all ages. In 2017/18 1,120 apprenticeships were delivered in the borough.

One development which is benefitting from local apprentices is The Skylarks development on Dunston Lane building two to five bedroom family homes in 15 different designs. The developer, William Davis Homes, has employed four local people as apprentices.

Apprentice Kieran Moulds said: “The benefits of doing an apprenticeship is that you actually get to do more practical work than theory – you do theory at college but I prefer to do more practical.”

Gary Long, Apprentice Manager at William Davis Homes added: “From day one, all of our apprentices have shown tremendous application, from interview to present day.”

“They give 120 per cent both on-site and off-site; their work ethic is second-to-none.”

As a partner in the Apprentice Town initiative, the council is committed to offering and promoting apprenticeship opportunities for local people of all ages.

Councillor Terry Gilby, the council’s cabinet member for economic growth, said: “We think apprenticeships are really important; it gives a lot of people a chance to find employment.”

“Apprenticeships are not just for young people – it doesn’t matter what your age is you can take up an apprenticeship and learn new skills.”

Apprenticeship opportunities available at the council and with other local employers are listed on Chesterfield Borough Council’s website.

There are lots of opportunities available – not only for manual work such as building and construction but also in a variety of roles including business, administration, marketing, healthcare, working with animals and beauty.

Visit www.chesterfield.gov.uk/apprenticeship-vacancies to see the current vacancies.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

Young people blazing a trail for apprenticeships in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire

4th March 2019

Apprenticeships are being put under the spotlight nationally from 4 – 8 March 2019, during the 12^th annual National Apprenticeship Week (NAW 2019).

Co-ordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, NAW is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider community.

Apprenticeships are key to Chesterfield’s growing economy, so much so the town became the first to declare itself an Apprentice Town.

Led by Chesterfield Borough Council the Apprentice Town initiative aims to raise awareness of apprenticeships and promote cooperative working across the education, business and learning community.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s leader, said: “One of the council’s top priorities is improving the quality of life for local people and ensuring our residents have good employment and training opportunities is key to that. This is why we worked with our partners to establish Chesterfield as an Apprentice Town in 2017.”

In Chesterfield there are currently more than 50 apprenticeship vacancies in a wide range of sectors, including project management, animal care, IT, hospitality, childcare and auto care, being advertised by employers in the town.

In 2017 alone, 1120 apprenticeship starts were delivered. Almost half of the apprenticeships delivered were at Level 3 or above, including 100 Higher Level Apprenticeships. Initial figures for the first quarter of 2018/19 show an 14% increase in apprenticeship starts compared to the same quarter in 2017/18.

With more than 14,000 young people in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire set to leave school over the next five years, apprenticeships are at the top of the agenda for many businesses who are keen to attract the next generation.

Blaze a Trail’ is the theme for this year’s NAW. There are thousands of young people already using apprenticeships right now to blaze a trail in their careers in businesses in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Here are just some of them:

Name: Jack Charlesworth

Age: 22

Employer: Capgemini

Apprenticeship: Degree Apprenticeship in Leadership and Management

Jack’s advice: “If there’s something you want to do for a career, have a look and see if there’s an apprenticeship that could be linked to that career. No matter how weird or wacky it is, you might be able to find an apprenticeship that can help you get onto the right route.”

Prior to joining Capgemini, Jack completed his A Levels in IT, Business Studies and Economics. The fact a degree apprenticeship eliminates university fees and gave him the opportunity to earn while he learned, meant Jack decided that it was time to get working.

He commented on his decision: “I’d learnt so much already at school but not put anything into practice. I really didn’t want to go on to university to take on a load more skills and have nowhere to apply them, so an apprenticeship was definitely the right route for me.

“When I first joined Capgemini and it was all completely fresh to me. I received the support I needed to really kickstart my career. Since then, I have gained experience in being a project manager and feel like I am seen as a normal part of the workforce. I’d love to progress with the company and gain more responsibilities going forward.”

Name: Joshua Bown

Age: 17

Employer: Learning Unlimited, Chesterfield College

Apprenticeship: Level 2 Business Administration

Joshua’s advice: “Look forwards and work your way backwards to see if an apprenticeship aligns with what you want to do.”

Before starting his apprenticeship at Chesterfield College, Josh was studying Travel and Tourism full-time at college. However, he was ready to get hands on and start to apply the skills he’d learned, so turned to an apprenticeship.

He said: “It’s been a huge positive change in my life moving onto an apprenticeship. Not only am I still learning, but the work experience is benefitting me massively and the wage I’m earning has allowed me to become a lot more independent.”

Josh has really enjoyed being part of a team and working with people and hopes that he can pursue that area of his apprenticeship going forward: “I’ve found my passion in interacting with people, whether that be a colleague or with people enquiring about apprenticeships at the college, and that’s definitely something I want to be incorporated in my job for the foreseeable future.”

Name: Maddie Cornwell

Age: 19

Employer: JP Ward & Associates

Apprenticeship: Level 3 Dental Nurse

Maddie’s advice: “Once you’ve found what you want to do, you should apply to as many places as possible. That way, you’re going to give yourself the best opportunity to find the right apprenticeship for you.”

Maddie previously completed her A Levels in Health and Social Care, Psychology and Business Studies, but she always knew that university wasn’t for her. After encouragement and support from her mum to apply for apprenticeships, she found one at JP Ward & Associates as an Apprentice Dental Nurse.

Maddie, who currently spends most of her days assisting in surgery, said: “I’m really enjoying my apprenticeship so far and I definitely prefer the practical learning environment to the one I experienced during my A Levels. It reinforces what I’m learning when I’m able to actually put it into practice on a day-to-day basis.

“I’ve always been interested in working in the medical sector, so I’m really excited to see where this apprenticeship will lead in the future.”

Name: Liam Richardson

Age: 22

Employer: Chesterfield Borough Council

Apprenticeship: Apprentice Bricklayer

Liam’s advice: “Never give up. You could apply for 20 apprenticeships and they could all say no, but there could be that one apprenticeship out there that is waiting for someone to come and take that opportunity.”

Prior to starting his bricklaying apprenticeship with Chesterfield Borough Council, Liam worked in a number of sectors including driving and retail. When he was 22 years old, keen to start a career that gave him long-term prospects, Liam entered into an apprenticeship.

He commented: “I’ve done a bit of everything such as driving and working in retail, but I really wanted something that I could potentially look at doing for the rest of my life. With me being a bit older I didn’t know if it was too late for me to do an apprenticeship, but I’ve been able to drop back into learning, getting qualifications whilst still earning a wage.”

Liam has used an apprenticeship to change careers. The accompanying wage has enabled him to retain his independence. He hopes to progress through his apprenticeships and is looking forward to seeing what the future holds.

If you’re interested in starting an apprenticeship, discover more here https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/apprenticeships/ )

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Made in Chesterfield

Local apprentices set to meet MP at the House of Commons

20th February 2019

Five employees from independent drinks company and Chesterfield Champion Global Brands will join circa 200 apprentices who are set to impress their local MP’s in the 3^rd annual Hospitality Apprenticeship Showcase during National Apprenticeship Week (4^th – 8^th March).

Oliva Harbor, Hannah Batty, Lauren Greaves, Barrie Sly and Liam Baker will meet MP Mr Toby Perkins (below) at the House of Commons on Wednesday 6^th March 2019 to talk about their career development and have a bit of fun in challenging their MP to participate in a number of interactive challenges, from pulling the perfect pint to climbing the career ladder.

The team work across sales, marketing and communications within hospitality based business, a sector that offers a huge range of careers, supports 2.9m jobs, represents 10% of UK employment, 6% of businesses and 5% of GDP.

Hospitality is the third largest private sector employer and double the size of financial services and bigger than automotive, pharmaceuticals and aerospace combined.

Global Brands was founded by Steve Perez (right) in 1997 and has grown to an international business selling drinks in more than 55 countries around the world. Steve comments: “The world of hospitality, and drinks in particular, is so fast-paced. You need to be able to stay ahead of what people want and keep innovating. Being in the thick of the action is a great starting point for understanding this. It helps people learn first-hand about the sector and what’s needed to succeed. Apprenticeships are invaluable in this sense. They provide people with a solid grounding to grow and create their own opportunities. As we continue to grow as a company, our aspiration is for our apprentices to grow with us and fuel innovative ways of thinking, creating and working.”

Chairman of the Perceptions hospitality industry group (involved with organising the event), and CEO of the multi-award winning Beds & Bars business Keith Knowles said: “Showcasing our industry to government and demonstrating that we have opportunities that range from the kitchen to the bar; from brewing to casual dining, from hostels to hotels as well as those in professional business support roles such as marketing, property and finance; highlight the many diverse roles the industry can offer. This is an industry where it is not unusual to start at grass roots on minimum wage and progress to senior management positions. For young people, career progression in this sector can be rapid, with many progressing to a management role within 3 years.”

The event takes place on Wednesday 6th March within the House of Commons, with Ministers and over 80 MPs from across the country currently signed up to meet local apprentices, including representatives from the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Youth Employment; APPG for Skills and Employment; APP Beer Group; APPG for Apprentices; APPG for Pubs; APPG for Tourism and Leisure planned to meet the apprentices and young learners.

The sector creates 1 in 8 of all new jobs and given the right economic circumstances the sector is forecast to continue to grow.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield

‘Low skilled’ image damaging care sector’s ability to recruit young people, says national care provider

16th February 2019

A major care provider group has spoken out against referring to care workers as ‘low skilled’ saying it is damaging the sector’s ability to attract young people.

Speaking at the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference, Brendan Kelly, Managing Director of Heathcotes Group said: “It annoys me that care workers are constantly referred to by the government and media as being ‘low skilled’. They are not.”

“Care workers require a wide range of skills, including medical knowledge, finance and budgeting, dynamic risk assessment, positive behaviour support and food hygiene to name just a few. Calling them low skilled is impacting on recruitment in the sector and turning off school leavers from entering the profession.”

The company, which is headquartered in Chesterfield, has plans in place to double employees from 2200 to 4500 over the next four years.

At the conference, which was organised by Chesterfield Borough Council, Placing Futures, D2N2 Enterprise Advisor Network and Destination Chesterfield, Mr Kelly also revealed that the Apprentice Levy had driven a culture change in apprenticeships within Heathcotes Group.

He explained: “We are using the Levy as a tool to develop the workforce rather than viewing it as a tax. Older workers are using apprenticeships to upskill which is enabling us to plug skills gaps. However, our priority remains to recruit young people to the care sector.”

Young people aged under 19 account for only a quarter of all apprenticeship starts in the UK. With more than 14,000 young people in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire alone set to leave school over the next five years, the conference brought together business leaders and representatives from the education sector to address barriers to apprenticeships.

Heathcotes Group is leading the residential care sector in apprenticeship training. It has partnered with national apprenticeship training provider Learning Unlimited Group to jointly introduce sector-based work academies offering short courses, including Health & Social Care qualifications and employability skills.

The partnership has produced some exceptional results for Heathcotes with an 82 per cent increase in apprenticeship starts between 2013/14 and 2017/18. Heathcotes’ achievement rates are also well above national average: 74 per cent for Health & Social Care roles, compared to 66.9 per cent nationally, and 68.8 per cent for Care Leadership & Management compared to 63.8 per cent nationally. In Business & Administration Heathcotes’ rate is 100% compared to a 71 per cent national average.

Commenting on the company’s strategy to attract young people to the sector, Mr Kelly said: “In recent years we have promoted an accessible and inspirational message, based on the fact that our work is enormously fulfilling because it makes a difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society. It has certainly proved to be more effective than more traditional and formulaic approaches to recruitment.”

“Attracting the next generation of talented and dedicated care professionals requires us to connect and engage on an emotional level, rather than get preoccupied with technical detail and lose the essence of who we are and what we do.”

Since 2013, the Heathcotes Group has recruited nearly 600 apprentices. In an effort to further increase local apprenticeship participation, Heathcotes Group has recently joined Chesterfield Apprenticeship Ambassador Network, which is part of the Apprentice town initiative.

In 2017 Chesterfield became the first town in the UK to declare itself an ‘Apprentice Town’. Led by Chesterfield Borough Council the Apprentice Town initiative aims to raise awareness of apprenticeships and promote cooperative working across the education, business and learning community.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s leader, said: “Heathcotes is a great of example of the success of the Apprentice Town initiative. By working together, the council, local businesses and education providers are able to manage the future workforce needs and provide development opportunities for local people.”

“This year’s conference has helped to do just that, by bringing together our business and education communities to challenge misconceptions and provide opportunity for more people to understand and take advantage of the breath of career development opportunities available in the sector.”

Mr Kelly added: “Heathcotes is fully committed to supporting the Apprentice Town initiative to develop Chesterfield as a leading apprenticeship destination. We enjoyed being part of the North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference and we are looking forward to leading and participating in various other events in 2019.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

‘Ditch the jargon if you want to attract apprentices’ business are told at Skills and Employability Conference

15th February 2019

‘Ditch the jargon if you want to attract school leavers to apply for apprenticeships’ – that was the advice to businesses from education leaders.

The message was delivered at the annual Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference where it was revealed that young people aged under 19 accounted for only a quarter of all apprenticeship starts in the UK.

With more than 14,000 young people in Chesterfield and North Derbyshire set to leave school over the next five years, the conference looked to address the barriers to apprenticeships. It brought together business leaders and representatives from the education sector as well as pupils from years 11 – 13 from schools in the region.

Speaking at the conference, Dr Emma Dando (right), Careers Lead at St Mary’s Catholic School in Chesterfield, said: “The simple fact is that it is easier to make a college and university application. Many 15 – 18-year-olds are put off applying for apprenticeships because they don’t understand the terminology that many companies use in their job adverts. They feel intimated.”

She advised that employers could learn from politicians when writing job adverts for apprenticeship vacancies. “Persuasive language is key,” added Dr Dando. “Young people are keen to know about progression routes, how formal learning fits into the job role and what a typical day will look like.”

Dr Dando also advised employers to consider including information about the catering facilities in the workplace, public transport links, parking and the environment they’ll be working in within job adverts.

“These are all important factors for a young person who has very little or no experience of a workplace environment. Failure to include this information in job adverts could put them off applying.”

Organised by Chesterfield Borough Council, Gail Widerman of Placing Futures, D2N2 Enterprise Advisor Network and Destination Chesterfield, almost 100 people attended the annual conference which was held at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa on Wednesday 13 February.

In addition to St Mary’s Catholic High School, speakers at the sell-out event included representatives from Capgemini, Brookfield School and Brendan Kelly, Managing Director of Heathcotes Group.

Speaking at the event Mr Kelly credited the introduction of the Apprentice Levy with helping the business nearly double apprentice starts over the last five years. Since 2013 the Heathcotes Group has recruited 568 apprentices.

He commented: “Attracting the next generation of talented and dedicated care professionals requires us to connect and engage on an emotional level, rather than get preoccupied with technical detail and lose the essence of who we are and what we do.”

“In recent years we have promoted an accessible and inspirational message, based on the fact that our work is enormously fulfilling because it makes a difference to the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society. It has certainly proved to be more effective than more traditional and formulaic approaches to recruitment.”

“Based on our experience in recruitment and apprenticeships, the young workforce is less concerned with specifics – they respond better to a broader perception of employers that support their career progression, invest in their future and celebrate the value of the work they do.”

Supporting businesses in their apprentice recruitment efforts, in 2018 Chesterfield became the first town in the UK to declare itself an ‘Apprentice Town’.

Led by Chesterfield Borough Council, the Apprentice Town initiative aims to raise awareness of apprenticeships and promote cooperative working across the education, business and learning community.

“This is why we worked with our partners to establish Chesterfield as an Apprentice Town in 2017.”

“This year’s conference has brought together partners from local businesses and education providers and, working together, we will continue to provide new opportunities to develop our future workforce.”

Local businesses or skills providers interested in getting involved with the Apprentice Town initiative should email emily.williams@chesterfield.gov.uk

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Made in Chesterfield

Local manufacturer Pronto Paints seeks intern for summer

11th February 2019

Pronto Paints, a local specialist industrial paint manufacturer, is looking to take on a paid intern over the summer, from July to September 2019. The internship will give a local undergraduate or A-level student the opportunity to improve their CV and gain insight into the manufacturing world.

Founded in 1989, Pronto Paints is a friendly, family-run company based in Holmewood, Chesterfield. Pronto Paints currently boasts over 300 products and serves a number of industries across the UK. They are always growing and looking at new ways to innovate the business.

The chosen candidate will work on rotation across the different divisions of the company including the marketing, administration, laboratory and production departments. This will allow them to gain as much experience as possible, as well as give them an understanding of the different jobs available in a manufacturing company like Pronto Paints.

Speaking about the new scheme, Managing Director David Beckford commented:

“Many businesses spend a lot of time worrying about where the next generation of talented people will come from, so with this internship we hope to do something about that situation. It will be a great experience for a student who is unsure about what they wish to do next and would like to sample different areas of a business as well as boost their CV.”

The chosen candidate will be expected to work 30 hours a week, at an hourly rate of up to £9/hour.

No previous experience is necessary, but Pronto Paints is ideally looking for someone who:

Lives around Chesterfield and can get to the Holmewood Industrial Estate every day
Has experience using Microsoft software such as Word, Excel and Access
Has a minimum grade C in English and Maths at GCSE level
Has a ‘can do’ attitude and positive outlook to life

As part of your application Pronto Paints would like to learn what makes you the best candidate for the internship, so please include a covering letter outlining what you hope to learn from the experience.

If you or someone you know would be interested in this opportunity, simply apply via this link: https://www.totaljobs.com/job/logistics-administrator/pronto-industrial-paints-ltd-job84959529

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business

Free support to recruit and retain graduates for Chesterfield SMEs

1st February 2019

Are you part of an exciting, growing SME in Chesterfield? RISE helps connect the region’s network of innovative and exciting businesses to graduates with energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas.

RISE is a free graduate recruitment programme to help SMEs based in in the nine regions of the SCR (including Chesterfield, Bolsover, North East Derbyshire and the Derbyshire Dales) to find the best graduate talent for their business. The team will write you an advert, advertise your role across the UK and put candidates through a variety of recruitment tasks. You’ll also have access to line manager training, interview guidance and toolkits.

To date, RISE has helped over 300 businesses to fill over 400 graduate vacancies, from manufacturing to marketing. A recent survey of RISE businesses showed that businesses benefit in many ways by taking on a graduate who bring new skills, energy and enthusiasm to their business as well as new ways of working that ultimately help the business to grow. In fact, 72% of businesses who used RISE believe that hiring a graduate helped their business grow.

“RISE worked really well for us. We wouldn’t have had the resources to interview the number of initial applicants ourselves.” Riverside Automation

“The RISE scheme was a breath of fresh air and I learnt a lot about recruitment. All the information was there if we needed it, but wasn’t forced on us if we didn’t.” Sheffield Sustainable Kitchens

“It has been a great service as RISE has done a lot of the selection process for us. It’s great because whilst RISE organises a lot of the recruitment process, we still have the final say on who we hire.” Pyronix

The service is jointly funded by The University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and the Sheffield City Region Growth Hub, so there is no cost to you except the graduate’s salary and employers NI.

The deadline to sign up to the scheme is 6^th March so get in touch with Oliver Tarrant to discuss advertising a vacancy.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield

Brookfield Community School put careers in the town’s manufacturing sector under the spotlight for students

31st January 2019

The importance of introducing young people to careers in the town’s manufacturing sector has been highlighted by Brookfield Community School.

Eight year 12 students from the school visited Chesterfield-based United Cast Bar as part of the Made in Chesterfield campaign.

The campaign, which is co-ordinated by Destination Chesterfield and Derbyshire Education Business Partnership and sponsored by University of Derby, is designed to bring together businesses, schools and training providers to showcase the sector to future school leavers.

As part of the visit, Students were taken into the foundry to see first-hand the manufacturing processes involved in producing continuous cast iron bar.

Tim Fagan, Head of Technology and Enterprise at Brookfield Community School, who accompanied the students on the visit, said: “The visit to United Cast Bar was so useful for our students, as it allowed them to see proper industrial practice.”

To mark its fifth year, Made in Chesterfield has now been aligned with the National Curriculum and will run throughout the year.

Mr Fagan added: “The students who took part in the visit love doing technology at school and enjoy making things, but sometimes it’s hard for them to link that up to the opportunities out there in the world of work. I think the visits to companies within the manufacturing and engineering sector helps open their eyes as to where the skills they learn in education can lead.”

Since the campaign was established, more than 2,500 young people from schools have spent time in the area’s manufacturing and engineering businesses. The visits to businesses operating within the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) sector are being organised by Derbyshire Education Business Partnership.

United Cast Bar is one of a number of companies from Chesterfield’s manufacturing and engineering sector which are opening their doors to students from across the borough in an effort to raise awareness of job opportunities.

James Brand, Managing Director of United Cast Bar, commented on the importance of developing the workforce of the future: “With an eye on future workforce needs, regularly inviting schoolchildren to the foundry through the Made in Chesterfield initiative plays an important part in our recruitment.

“If we are to develop our young people and retain their talent in the UK, schools must start bringing manufacturing and engineering careers to their attention. To look forward we must look back; getting young people interested in the sector is a great first step.”

Alongside the educational activity there is a programme of business events including a manufacturing conference, manufacturing and engineering forum, business masterclasses and networking events taking place throughout the year.

In addition to Destination Chesterfield, Derbyshire Education Business Partnership and University of Derby, Made in Chesterfield is supported by MSE Hiller, United Cast Bar Ltd, Natwest and Placing Futures.

To find out more about Made in Chesterfield or to arrange a school visit, please visit: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/made/

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield

Tesco Community Champions help Chesterfield College to provide students with a nutritious start to the day

28th January 2019

Tesco Community Champions from the local Tesco Extra store visited Chesterfield College’s breakfast hub last week to see first-hand how their food donations are helping to provide students with a nutritious start to the day.

The breakfast hub is just one initiative that is helping students to adopt healthier lifestyles as part of a national project funded by Sport England and the National Lottery, called Tackling Inactivity in Colleges. The donations are helping to boost the variety of food available as well as ensuring that the service is available every day of the week.

The Tesco Community Champions are part of the FareShare project, which works with large supermarket chains and food outlets to redistribute surplus food to charities and organisations in need. As well as donating breakfast foods such as bread, fruit and pastries to the college, the group also give fresh food to soup kitchens, community groups and even farms.

Tesco Community Champion, Jane Clavin said: “The project is really important because not only does it help reduce wastage and improve our environment, but it also acts as a lifeline for many people in our community. Working with the college has been great because we are helping to provide a varied breakfast for lots of young people who may not have had the opportunity to eat breakfast at home. If students haven’t eaten a decent breakfast then their brains aren’t switched on.”

Sarah Vaughan, Healthy Lifestyle Lead at Chesterfield College who runs the breakfast hubs said: “Without the help of the Tesco Community Champions, we wouldn’t be able to provide our students with a free breakfast every single day. The quality and variety of food we have on offer is fantastic. Students can choose from a wide range of things from toast and crumpets to yogurts and fruit. We now serve breakfast to around 30-40 students a day. Many of the students who take advantage of the service have also increased the amount of physical activity that they do each week too. When the students get to know the team and find out what other things we offer, such as the range of sports clubs, they are keen to give them a go too. The breakfast hub has so many benefits.”

Chesterfield College has been working with the superstore for over 7 months and in that time they have delivered free breakfasts to hundreds of students.

Tesco Community Champions Karen Pearson and Jane Clavin with Sarah Vaughan from Chesterfield College.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town

Free Employability and Skills Conference to be held to ensure school leavers are work ready

9th January 2019

Business leaders and the education sector in North Derbyshire are being urged to come together to address employability and skills in the area at a free conference next month.

With more than 14,000 students in North Derbyshire set to gain their GCSE and A Level qualifications over the next five years, the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference aims to strengthen links between education providers and local businesses to ensure school leavers are work ready.

Returning for a third year, the Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference, will be held at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa from 8.00am – 10.30am on Wednesday 13 February 2019.

The conference is organised by Chesterfield Borough Council, Gail Widerman of Placing Futures, D2N2 Enterprise Advisor Network and Destination Chesterfield.

The conference is an opportunity for employers and education providers to develop solutions together that will ensure young people leaving education have both the skills employers in the area require and are also aware of the employment opportunities available to them.

One of the headline speakers at the event includes Brendan Kelly, Managing Director of Heathcotes Group, the industry-leading providers of residential care for adults which is headquartered in Chesterfield.

Brendan Kelly commented: “Bringing on talented and dedicated people through apprenticeships has been vital to Heathcotes’ success in what is currently a very challenging health and social care sector. Working with our learning partners, Chesterfield College, we have developed a work-based learning programme which has been very successful in developing long-term careers in this region, so we welcomed the opportunity to speak at this conference to advocate the enormous value of apprenticeships for school leavers and businesses alike.”

Mr Kelly will also be joined by representatives from Capgemini, Brookfield School and St Marys Roman Catholic High School, who will be speaking at the event.

Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s cabinet member for economic growth, explained why the conference is so important to Chesterfield and North Derbyshire. He said: “One of the council’s priorities is to ensure that local people benefit from the economic growth that we are seeing in Chesterfield.

“We have to plan now for future opportunities like HS2 and some of the other large developments so that, when those jobs become available, local people are skilled and able to take advantage of them.

“People in well paid jobs get more life opportunities, which means their health and wellbeing tends to be better and they have more cash in their pocket. This means they can spend more in the local economy. In turn, this supports other jobs.”

Gail Widerman, Director of Placing Futures Ltd – an independent consultancy service based in Chesterfield which links vocational learning to schools and employers, said: “Research has shown if a young person has four or more encounters with people from the world of business from year 7 to 11, they are 86% less likely to leave school and fall into NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) and on average earn 15% more in their working lifetime. The more engagement students have with businesses while in school helps inform their aspirations and choices post education. It also gives businesses the opportunity to inspire young people to look at careers in our local industries.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Made in Chesterfield

Learning Unlimited expands its team

30th December 2018

Chesterfield-based Learning Unlimited has expanded its team with two new appointments.

Business Development Consultant, Rachael Wood, and Partnership Account Officer, Molly Wilkins, have joined the team that provides apprentices, training and development plans to businesses across the country.

Rachael (right) will be working with employers to help them recruit the right apprentices that they need for their businesses. She brings with her more than nine years of experience providing support to employers across Sheffield and Leeds city regions and has previously worked with Barnsley College.

While account managing within the engineering and sports sector, she supported employers with their apprenticeship recruitment needs and advised on the apprenticeship levy and how to access funding streams.

“I’m looking forward to working with businesses to help them recruit the right apprentices for their business,” said Rachael. “I’ll be there to help employers recruit and train and develop their current teams and guide them through their training needs to develop succession planning.”

Molly, meanwhile, comes from a customer-service focused background and will be responsible for assisting with organising and recruiting apprentices for employers and directly involved in employer and learner engagement. She said: “I am really looking forward to a new challenge and learning all about the comprehensive apprenticeship provision that Learning Unlimited offer. The team has been so welcoming and I can’t wait to get stuck into my new role.”

Last month, Learning Unlimited’s opened its brand new Apprenticeship Hub in the heart of Chesterfield College.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Made in Chesterfield