education

The Work-wise Foundation launches week-long virtual STEM careers showcase

Get Up to Speed with STEM, the area’s largest annual employer-inspired science, technology, engineering, manufacturing (STEM) and construction careers spectacular usually held at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham, is pleased to announce the launch of its first ever virtual showcase.

Organised by The work-wise Foundation and taking place from 22nd – 26th March 2021, Get up to Speed The Virtual Experience, will give young people the opportunity to learn about STEM industries and the careers available within the industries over the course of a week and from the comfort of their classroom, home or office.

During the interactive event, to be held in place of the organisation’s usual annual day-long expo to maintain safe social distancing, attendees will learn about what it is really like to work in the STEM sectors. This will be achieved through virtual company tours, live exhibitor demonstrations, ask the experts Q&A’s, competitions and presentations and panel discussions from businesses, inventors, apprentices and education providers within the industry.

John Barber, CEO of the work-wise Foundation and Chair of the Get up to Speed Steering Group, comments: “Young people have had a lot of restrictions placed on them this year, due to Covid-19 and we wanted to make sure they could still benefit from a real life experience of working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Manufacturing. We’re thrilled to be introducing a week’s worth of virtual activities, hosted in conjunction with dozens of employers. We’re confident that Get up to Speed 2021 will be just as exciting as it has always been.”

Sponsored by Sheffield’s Liberty Speciality Steels, Chesterfield’s CBE+ and Rotherham’s AESSEAL plc, Get up to Speed The Virtual Experience will also support learning in schools by linking the curriculum with real life experiences. This will allow young people to explore the diverse range of career opportunities available in an engaging and interactive way, whilst contributing towards levels 2-7 of the Gatsby Benchmarks; a framework of guidelines that define the best careers provision in secondary schools.

All schools or young people taking part will be required to register in advance. By doing so they will be allocated a unique code which will provide access to all planned events, as well as activity workbooks for each attendee. All workshops, tours and seminars will then be available to access for 4 weeks following the event to provide ample time for each student or young person to complete the course.

Over the past 10 years, Get up to Speed, which is championed by employers and delivered through The work-wise Foundation alongside key partners in the private and public sectors, has showcased engineering career opportunities to over 19,000 young people and their families from across the South Yorkshire region and beyond. The event also gives companies the opportunity to showcase their business whilst helping to address the skills gap in STEM-related industries.

Get up to Speed with STEM 2021 is open to young people, families, individuals, schools and employers. For more details and to register, go to www.getuptospeed.org.uk.

Businesses wishing to take part in the event or that may be interested in signing up as a sponsor, should contact Emily Woods at Emily@work-wise.co.uk / 07847433088 or John Barber at john@work-wise.co.uk / 07500 331400.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Apprentice Town, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Leisure, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , ,

National Award for School Games collaboration work in Derbyshire and Notts

Active Derbyshire, Active Notts, and the School Games Organiser Networks in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire have won a School Games National Award for collaboration.

The award comes after the organisations pooled resources and expertise to support schools with a new virtual School Games offer during lockdown in the Summer term 2020.

Working together, colleagues produced 11 weekly resources featuring a range of sporting activities themed around daily physical challenges and cultural competitions.

The development of the resources also involved colleagues from National Governing Bodies, and partners within education, health, community groups, sports clubs and associations supported by circulating resources more widely.

Resources were developed further to help local communities include physical activity cards in food parcels for those in deprived areas, assist with the provision of physical activity at the Royal School for the Deaf Derby, and for a Staycation resource to help keep young people physically active over the holidays.

Naomi Bennett-Jones, who leads young people work for Active Derbyshire and Active Notts, said: “It is fantastic to be recognised for what was a truly collaborative approach to keep children and young people active at home and school during lockdown at what was a very challenging time. The trust and relationships between a range of colleagues that have developed through this work have established a new culture and ways of working that will benefit all future work.”

Paul Ryan, Tupton Hall School Games Organiser and Partnership Development Manager for SHAPE Learning Partnership in Derbyshire, said: “I am extremely proud to have been part of this collaboration. It was vital that we came together as a School Games network at a time of real challenge and it was amazing how well we worked across the districts and counties. The unity showed, created a real opportunity to share the vast knowledge and experience we have as a collective and resulted in a meaningful and worthwhile set of resources that provided support for teachers, parents and young people.”

Chris Ballard, School Games Organiser for Rushcliffe School Sport Partnership, said: “The weekly resources enabled schools to be able to simply follow and deliver a variety of tasks and activities with and to their pupils. The consistency of format and challenge ensured that pupils were able to engage whether that be within a school environment or at home.”

 

Posted in About Chesterfield, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , ,

Chesterfield companies and local school children set to support Vulcan XH558’s Operation Safeguard

A new innovative four-way partnership led by the Vulcan to the Sky Trust (VTST) is set to inspire the next generation of engineers in a project that supports the Trust’s latest fundraising drive – Operation Safeguard.

The project will see CBE+, a specialist precision engineering sub-contractor, join forces with The Work-wise Foundation to engage with local schools who will all work together on a number of projects to help the VTST charity.

The Work Wise Foundation is an employer-inspired and led initiative for engineering, manufacturing, technology, set up to support the development of children and young people so they have the knowledge, skills, aptitude and opportunities for employment.

Dr Robert Pleming, CEO of VTST said: “We are thrilled to be announcing this partnership with Chesterfield based CBE+ and The Work-wise Foundation to bring a unique opportunity to young people, schools and colleges in the region.

“Inspiring young people into careers in aerospace and engineering is one of the fundamental principles guiding our charity.”

CBE+ are currently housing an original Fuel Tank (as used in the conversion of Vulcan to a tanker) and two spare original Delta Wing Tips form the stock of parts used to maintain the iconic British engineered Vulcan XH558, delivered by the Trust for preparation, restoration and subsequent display in The Vulcan Experience.

Robert added: “This is partnership working at its best. CBE+ are providing the workshop space, engineering innovation/adaptation and apprentices to help renovate the components in a modern engineering environment.

“The Work-wise Foundation are delivering an education programme with links to the curriculum, employability skills and managing visits and experiences for students and schools to get involved.

“The exhibits resulting from this work will eventually take pride of place at The Vulcan Experience, displaying the names of people who support us by donating to Operation Safeguard – the campaign to build our new home.”

XH558 is based at Doncaster Sheffield Airport and the VTST have planning permission to build a new permanent base for the aircraft. Operation Safeguard is their fundraising campaign to turn these ambitions into reality.

Marie Cooper, CEO of CBE+ said: “We are extremely pleased to be working with the Vulcan to the Sky Trust and The Work-wise Foundation on this project and cannot wait to get young people and apprentices involved in this innovative project.

“Taking delivery of the Fuel Tank and the Wing Tips was a very exciting moment for us and our engineers are keen to get to work on the restoration of these parts.

“Working with and inspiring young people into careers in STEM is so important for us. These are our future employees and we need to capture their attention when they are young so that they can see the potential of working in this sector.”

The Work-wise foundation will be working with schools to launch a competition that will see young people design the display stands to showcase the Fuel Tank and Wing Tips, the winning design will be translated into reality by CBE+.John Barber, CEO of The Work-wise Foundation said: “This is a really exciting partnership and we are proud to be working with both CBE+ and the Vulcan to the Sky Trust to bring this project to life.

“We will be working with primary and secondary schools to give students a first-hand experience of a real engineering renovation project in a modern industrial setting.

“Students will be able to learn about and see the work to restore and bring back to practical use the Fuel Tank and Wing Tips of the iconic Avro Vulcan Bomber XH558. Seeing and hearing from a team of Vulcan Engineers (Volunteers) and current apprentices.

“There will be a number of opportunities for students to learn practical skills and learn about all the jobs involved in working in aviation and engineering and the skills that are needed.”

The Work-wise Foundation supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Celebrate Chesterfield, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , ,

Chesterfield primary school introducing ‘daily mile’ track to improve health and wellbeing for pupils

St. Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Chesterfield is currently in the process of constructing a daily mile running track around the perimeter of its sports field. It is hoped the development will help promote health and wellbeing amongst pupils and the wider community.

Once completed, the track will run around the full perimeter of the grassed area of the field and will require 9 laps around it to complete a mile. The surface will be 1.2m wide and be made out of polyurethane bound rubber all weather material.

Rachael priest, chair of the school’s Parent-Teacher Friends Association said: “The field is a large part of the school’s outdoor space (making up almost half the outside play area available to the children) however, the British inclement weather means that it can typically only be used for a few months of the year. The nature of the material will mean that even through the winter months when the field is to muddy to utilise the children will still be able to use the track to complete their daily mile and for other activities.”

“The school is very keen to promote health, fitness and wellbeing and the introduction of the track would be a positive step in encouraging both children and staff to adopt a healthier and more active lifestyle while also improving and enhancing the Schools outdoor environment. The school is eager to adopt the mile as a daily part of the school day and hope, in time, that the completion of the daily mile by each pupil becomes as routine as maths lesson or break time.”

“We hope that the effects of the daily mile will also be felt by the wider community with our pupils becoming positive, confident individuals passing on the message that exercise is good for both body and the mind and encouraging others to embrace a happier and healthier future.”

The school has currently raised £2000 of its £10,000 target through past events and currently have collection points in the classrooms and playgrounds where children can bring in small change and deposit them in a covid secure way.

It is now looking to  affiliate with a local running club in the future and hold sponsored running events with funds raised going towards the track. Other initiatives being planned include ‘sponsor a step,’ where people can help fund the track by buying a virtual step for a fee. In return the sponsors names or nominated names will be displayed on a sign in a similar way to buying a brick projects.

John Cannon of Cannon Events, who host a number of local fun-runs to promote exercise locally, said: “To have a facility like that in the school, for children to exercise every day, will benefit their physical and also mental health enormously and it’ll have a positive effect on their schoolwork as well. It is absolutely priceless. This track is going to make a huge difference.”

Posted in About Chesterfield, Development, Home, Leisure, UncategorisedTagged in , , , , , , ,

Spireites Trust visit local schools during Black History Month

Chesterfield FC Community Trust arranged a series of school visits in October as part of Black History Month.

The Trust has continued to work with the African Caribbean Community Association of Chesterfield (ACCAC), delivering a series of workshops across Chesterfield and North-East Derbyshire about Black History, BAME role models, the Windrush generation and equality.

Lud Ramsey, chair of Chesterfield ACCAC, said: “I believe the most important equality work we deliver must start at school level.

“This is to ensure the future adult work force of our country will have a better knowledge of people in their community.

“Having a better understanding of seeing equality and diversity is a strength and not a weakness.”

Working alongside the ACCAC, visits were made to Ridgeway Primary School, William Rhodes Primary School, Woodthorpe C of E Primary School, Eckington Junior School and St Joseph’s Catholic & Church of England Primary School.

Lud shared his personal story, which included footage of his appearances on Gladiators and Ninja Warrior! Here are a few quotes from teachers, participants and Chesterfield FC Community Trust staff:

Jayne Jackson, assistant headteacher at William Rhodes Primary & Nursery School, said: “Thank you so much for the inspiring visit from Lud. Please pass on our thanks and admiration.

“His visit has left an inspirational and lasting impact on our children and the class teachers.”

Maisie (Year 6), who was a part of the workshop at William Rhodes Primary School, said: “Lud told us about Rosa Parks being arrested because she wouldn’t give up her seat to a white person and how Muhammad Ali wasn’t allowed into a restaurant because he was black, even though he was a World Champion boxer.

“I think Lud is an amazing person who has worked hard to get where he is. I would definitely recommend him to other schools.”

Esme (Year 5), who was a part of the workshop at Ridgeway Primary School, commented: “We learnt that back in the day, black people were treated unfairly. They were used as slaves and had to be segregated from white people, which we now know is completely unfair!”

Robert Stevenson, Premier League co-ordinator at the Community Trust, said: “It has been great to visit schools and have Lud talk about Black History.

“He is really inspirational in his own right from what he has done in his career as a firefighter, as well as having his own battles against equality and diversity.

“At the Trust, we feel that this it is important for children to understand the importance of equality and implement it into their everyday lives.”

Chesterfield Football Club supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

 

Posted in Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, UncategorisedTagged in , , ,

Derbyshire County Council offers free careers advice for those who need it

Derbyshire County Council says it is offering free careers advice to anyone who is aged over 19, or anyone who is 18 and not working or in education. They can ask for free advice on:

  • Training courses – including how to get funding
  • Career planning – including help to understand the current labour market, identifying skills, looking at new career paths and routes into employment
  • How to write a CV or update an existing one
  • How to write covering letters that will gain the attention of prospective employers
  • Helpful tips on finding new employment such as making the most of ‘Find a Job’, using social media and exploring the hidden labour market guidance on how to write an application form and relating it to a possible interview

Appointments are either offered on the phone, or by video call. Advice is also available by email or text.

Cabinet Member for Young People, Councillor Alex Dale said: “We can offer advice to those who may have been affected by the changes to the economy due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“If you have been made redundant and need help then please get in touch and our friendly and knowledgeable team can help you with your CV, offer advice on training, or suggest a change of career.
“There is government funding earmarked for training and job creation, and our team of career coaches can help you to find out more.”

The team can also offer advice on interview skills, including video interviews and advice on volunteering and work experience opportunities on offer across the county.

You can find out more by visiting the County Council’s website. Find out more about working in Chesterfield here. 

Chesterfield is the first town in the UK to declare itself an Apprentice Town – demonstrating its commitment to growing the future and careers of young people alongside business and the economy by retaining and developing young talent in the town in order to attract more employers to invest here. Find out more about apprenticeships in Chesterfield

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

Mortgage 1st go ‘back to school’ to teach students about future financial planning

Mortgage 1st, a Chesterfield based Mortgage Advice firm have been ‘Back to School’ this October delivering a lesson they created for year 9 students as part of the schools personal development topic, the lesson focuses on future financial planning which is a very important and key life skill for young people.

The team at Mortgage 1st are passionate about supporting young people, they already offer an ‘Apprentice to Adviser’ program to school & college leavers and more recently have taken part in the My Future Platform which is a virtual careers fair showcasing the jobs available in their industry to inspire the next generation.

Developing a partnership with local schools and designing a lesson plan based around financial planning, mortgages and buying a house is something HR & Marketing Director, Lisa Stones has been keen to do for a while and after linking with Shirebrook Academy earlier this year the project took shape.

Along with her colleague Carly Montisci, Senior Manager at Mortgage 1st, Lisa delivered the lesson to 6 tutor groups, over 150 students in total, over a course of 3 weeks. The lessons were well received by the tutors and students alike even after the shock of discovering the actual cost of buying a house!

Many students expressed an interest in the financial service industry as a career option they may now consider but most importantly a seed has been planted with the 13 year olds about the importance of budgeting and sensible money management to enable a financially stable future.

Lisa Stones, HR & Marketing Director, Mortgage 1st said: “I am thrilled to have been able to see this project through, I wasn’t going to let any COVID restrictions get in my way this year! The team at Shirebrook Academy have been fantastic and provided me with all the guidance I needed to create an interesting and engaging lesson for the students. The feedback from the tutors has been great and the level of engagement and questions from the students was amazing, they were genuinely interested in what is a fairly complex and ‘grown-up’ subject. This is only the start as we hope to be able to offer this programme to more local school on a regular basis.”

Mortgage 1st will soon be on the lookout for their next new young apprentice to join their head office team in Barlborugh, Chesterfield. Details will be published on their website and social media later in the year.

Mortgage 1st supports the marketing and economic growth of the town through Chesterfield Champions, a network of over 180 organisations across Chesterfield and North Derbyshire.

Posted in About Chesterfield, Business, Destination Chesterfield, Development, Featured, Home, Made in Chesterfield, UncategorisedTagged in , , , ,

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