Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) has launched a new Careers Hub for the county, one of only 20 to be piloted in England, which will help transform careers education for young people.
The Cumbria Careers Hub is a group of 40 local schools and colleges working together with universities, training providers, employers and career professionals to improve careers education in the county. Its objective is to better prepare our young people for the world of work.
The launch event at Cumbria LEP’s headquarters at Redhills near Penrith included a keynote address about the importance of the new careers hubs in England and their impact on national policy from Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of the Careers & Enterprise Company.
The LEP, Kendal College, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and the Centre for Leadership Performance also delivered presentations on why careers education matters, how the careers hub model will be delivered in Cumbria, the employer perspective and the voice of young people.
Cumbria’s current Enterprise Advisers, who are business volunteers working with schools and colleges, were given centre stage for their great work with a special presentation of framed certificates by Claudia Harris. They included Roger Wilson, a Cumbrian Enterprise Adviser whose excellent work was recently recognised when he received the National Enterprise Adviser Award for 2018.
Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership Careers Hub manager Caroline Ledward explains: “Working with the Careers and Enterprise Company, local education and skills providers and employers, our aim is to provide more support to schools and colleges in developing high quality careers and enterprise education programmes.
“We want to build on excellent practice evident in parts of the county to secure greater consistency and depth in the quality of careers education and guidance. By doing so, we will give young people better access to the world of work through intervention such as work experience and connecting schools and colleges with employers and careers programme providers.”
At the launch event, Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, added: “I’m delighted to be here to launch the Cumbria Careers Hub. The Careers & Enterprise Company will be working closely with Cumbria LEP to ensure the new Careers Hub is a real catalyst in bringing together the fragmented landscape of careers and enterprise, supporting programmes that work and filling gaps in skills provision. It will also build on the LEP’s Careers Strategy for Cumbria and help to provide better coverage across the country.”
The Cumbria Careers Hub will have access to support and funding to help meet the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of excellent careers education. It will also dovetail with the Government’s Careers Strategy to improve the links between employers and education and has backing from local businesses, schools and colleges.
For further information about Cumbria LEP, please visit http://www.thecumbrialep.co.uk
