A wide mix of universities, employers, and industry experts helped to deliver vital careers advice to hundreds of young people in Wigan Borough this week.
On Tuesday, 10 March, the third Believe in Your Future event was held at The Edge building in Wigan to offer students invaluable insights into higher education options and promote the diverse opportunities available after college.
With council staff and partners also on hand to offer careers, student finance, and employment advice, the mix of stallholders were kept extremely busy as more than a thousand students attended throughout the day from Wigan and Leigh College, Winstanley College, St. John Rigby, and The Deanery and St Mary’s Sixth Form.
Leader of Wigan Council, Councillor David Molyneux MBE, said: “Believe In Your Future is an exciting event as it brings together a wide range of representatives from the educational sector as well as a diverse selection of employers that offer various apprenticeships or higher education courses.
“One of the council’s main aims is to raise aspirations for our young people so it was great to see so many stallholders and students at the event, and I hope that many of them left feeling more informed and more inspired about their next steps.”
With students given the opportunity to speak to more than 40 universities from across the UK about prospective courses, representatives from a range of employers were also on hand to speak about apprenticeships and routes into employment, including those from the health and social care, law, finance, and engineering industries, among more.
Sarah Finnigan, from the University of Leeds, explained that these kinds of events are a significant way of reaching young people and to help advise them on a broad spectrum of course options as they embark on their next steps after college.
Likewise, Chris from Alliance Learning and Denise from Arnold Clark explained that the Believe in Your Future event was a great chance to speak to young people who desire a more practical and vocational path, while Laura Milward was kept extremely busy explaining the various academic and practical routes into the NHS.
Council staff were also kept busy at stalls which helped to showcase the vast number of careers and apprenticeships that can be found at the local authority, with Aspiring Futures also on hand to discuss next steps with students who may need extra support or mentorship, with the team placing a particular focus on those with special educational needs or not in education, employment, or training.
The local authority also showcased its innovative partnership working at the Believe in Your Future stall, which offered students vital insights from industry experts as well as the various pathways they could take with local and regional companies.
And to make sure that the event provided as much as possible, partners also delivered higher apprenticeship and student finance workshops, while parents and carers were invited to speak through future career options for students.
Coun Molyneux added: “There are so many opportunities for young people to take after college, so it was really pleasing to see such a mix of stallholders discussing the exciting options that they can take in their careers.
“I’m proud of the partnership working that has made Believe in Your Future possible, and I’m sure that it will continue to go from strength to strength in the years to come.”
