Bright young students have had a taste of the world of work as part of the Dream Placement initiative.
Dream Placement – supported by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) – is a unique county initiative project managed by the Centre for Leadership Performance (CfLP), that links bright, motivated young students, aged 16 to 18, with successful county businesses to help them learn about the world of work.
Workington Academy sixth form student Ebony Ritchie has spent the week working alongside the CLEP team to better understand its role in determining local economic priorities and advocating on behalf of Cumbria.
However, the learning hasn’t been a one-way street and the CLEP team has been able to pick up tips from Ebony too.
“It has been an absolute delight to play host to Ebony this week and she has proved to be a wonderful ambassador for Cumbria’s talented young people,” explained Chief Executive Jo Lappin.
“She has a particular interest if the area of communications so we’ve been able to show her how we engage with and inform a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including the media, about our activities.
“But she has also given us some great ideas about other things we can do to spread our messages, particularly to a younger audience. She has helped us compile data for several reports, produced blogs and even wrote a press release that we were able to issue to the media.
“I’ve said before that Cumbria’s young people are one of our greatest assets and the Dream Placement scheme – and Ebony’s involvement this week – proves the point.”
Twenty organisations throughout Cumbria are participating in this year’s Dream Placement programme.
It is an initiative devised within Cumbria by CfLP with businesses across the county who want to connect with their future workforce and showcase the breadth of opportunities within their organisations.
At the same time, it helps equip the students with the skills, experience and contacts to help them through further education, university, their first job and beyond.
Ebony said: “I have an interest in media, communications and graphic design. At the initial Dream Placement event, I spoke with Craig and told him that I felt there was no opportunity for me to pursue a career in these sectors in Cumbria… but I was wrong.
“As my week at the LEP comes to an end, I have been giving so many new opportunities and experiences that makes me excited for my future.”
