News and Views

National Careers Week provides the perfect opportunity for leaders in Cumbria’s businesses to play a major role in developing our future workforce by helping our young people to know what great career opportunities are available here and what they need to do to secure these.

Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) is looking to recruit additional Enterprise Advisers to join its team of 38 experienced business people, who are working to develop the links between the world of business and the world of education.

Enterprise Advisers (EAs) work directly with a school or college's senior leadership team to support the development of its careers programme to make sure that this reflects the needs of business and the economy.

Mike Smith OBE, CLEP Board Member and Chair of its People, Employment and Skills Strategy Group, said: “We’re very proud of our network of EAs in Cumbria.

“EAs are senior level professionals from different business sectors and backgrounds with a shared passion and commitment to making a real difference to our young people in Cumbria.

“The commitment represents around eight hours a month during the academic year to help our schools and colleges prepare our young people for the world of work.”

Kathryn Jackson is an EA who is making a huge difference to the lives of youngsters in West Cumbria. A Personal Development Coach at Kathryn Jackson Coaching, she works closely with the senior leadership teams at Energy Coast University Technical College.

Kathryn said: “As a local business owner, it's really important to me to be able to put something back into our community and especially our future leaders and those that support them in their education.

“As an Enterprise Adviser I am able to maximise my skills as a coach and spend time with both the leadership team and the students themselves to increase their self-awareness and confidence and empower creative thinking within these crucial education years.

“It's great supporting the UTC in Workington and seeing the difference that can be made from my involvement and my business network and I would urge anyone to consider this opportunity regardless of what job you have as you will be valued for bringing your skills and experience.”

National Careers Week (March 2 to 7) will see a range of activities taking place in Cumbria to help highlight the opportunities available to young people.

CLEP will be leading a week-long social media campaign showcasing the career stories of several prominent Cumbrian business leaders to demonstrate to young people exactly what is achievable.

This comes just one week after the Cumbria Careers Hub, a groundbreaking careers guidance partnership, celebrated its first year of operation, during which it outperformed other areas in England, across a range of measures.

The Hub was launched in January 2019 as a partnership between CLEP, the Careers and Enterprise Company and 40 local schools and colleges, together with universities, training providers, employers and career professionals.

It was one of only 20 that were piloted in England with the objective of transforming careers education for young people by ensuring they’re better prepared for the world of work.

Figures show that it has exceeded national average Careers Hub performance across a range of measures, including:

• Establishing a stable careers programme;
• Learning from career and labour market information;
• Linking curriculum learning to careers;
• Delivering encounters with employers and employees;
• Developing experiences of workplaces;
• Securing encounters with further and higher education.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Enterprise Adviser programme should contact Careers Hub Manager Caroline Ledward at CLEP for further information -- caroline.ledward@thecumbrialep.co.uk.