Careers fair attracts hundreds

Hundreds of people attended an event to showcase the range of jobs and careers in the borough.

The day-long Rossendale Works skills and employability fair was hailed a success with 57 businesses and organisations setting up stalls.

It was organised by Rossendale Council with careers organisation Inspira, local schools and the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) skills and employment hub.

Around 1,000 pupils attended the morning session at the Adrenaline Centre, Haslindgen. They took part in hands-on activities to discover more about different career options in the borough with companies like Connections2Energy, Civenco, The Hut, Flexipol and Beta Group.

The Science Made Simple show also promoted the skills needed for science, technology, engineering and manufacturing jobs.

About 400 members of the public attended the afternoon session. As well as finding out about job vacancies, there were workshops on adult apprenticeships, budgeting, self-employment and interview techniques.

Pupils from Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School and All Saints’ Catholic High School also reported on the event. They tweeted and produced a newspaper.

First look at our newsletter for the event produced by our yr7s @RossendaleBC pic.twitter.com/1b6IFxDvXZ

— Invest In Rossendale (@InvestInRoss) July 10, 2018

Councillor Alyson Barnes, Leader of Rossendale Council, said:

The council is working hard to support the development of good quality local jobs by helping businesses to set up in the borough and expand.

We also want talented young people to stay here, or return after they have completed their studies, so it’s vital they know that there are exciting career opportunities in Rossendale.

Days like this with lots of interesting activities really engage them and get them thinking about careers they perhaps hadn’t even considered. We had businesses large and small and a very diverse range.

Thank you to the businesses which sponsored, helped to organise or attended this brilliant event.

The fair was part of the activities undertaken through the Lancashire Enterprise Adviser Network (LEAN). The network is co-funded by Lancashire County Council and delivered by Inspira on behalf of the LEP.

The network works with 123 Lancashire schools to inspire young people about their career options.

Penny Heys, Inspira’s enterprise coordinator who works on the LEAN project, said:

Fairs like this one in Rossendale are so important to inspire young people to raise their career aspirations and to understand what careers are available now and in the future – getting employers engaged with young people makes this happen.

It  also important we have the right skills in the right places to ensure our local businesses continue to succeed and attract the best talent.

More photos from the event are on Flickr