People & Skills Projects - 27 February 2020

Businesses urged to work with education providers to avoid future skills disconnect

Schools and education providers have been urged to support young people into future high skills jobs in North Derbyshire to ensure the area reaches its economic potential.

The call to action came at the fourth annual Chesterfield and North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference organised by Chesterfield Borough Council, the D2N2 North Derbyshire Careers Hub, and Destination Chesterfield.

Speaking at the conference Mark Cottingham, Principal of Shirebrook Academy and part of the newly established North Derbyshire Careers Hub, appealed to businesses and employers to get involved with schools in order to get future school leavers work-ready.

He said: “Education is more than passing exams. Qualifications are not enough. We need to open the eyes of young people beyond school. The more links we can have with businesses and employers than the better work we can do with young people to get them ready for employment.”

“There is nothing better than a workplace visit and work experience to open the eyes of a young person to the reality of the world of work. They have a real impact on young people and they often give them a determination and focus to achieve their ambitions.”

Employability and Skills Conference

The conference brought together more than 100 representatives from North Derbyshire’s business community and education sector ahead of the creation of thousands of jobs in the area over the next five years.

Speaking at the conference Rachel Quinn (pictured), Head of People and Skills at D2N2 echoed Mr Cottingham, saying: “There is a skills mismatch which we have to address immediately by encouraging the building of strategic partnerships between employers, young people, schools and colleges.”

“Skills are one of the most important factors in determining economic outcomes for people and places. Currently, North Derbyshire is creating four times as many jobs as the working-age population creating a gap in prosperity due to falling productivity levels.”

The annual conference, which was held at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, was headlined by television personality Baasit Siddiqui, Managing Director of Siddiqui Education, a Derby-based company which uses his public profile, 10 years teaching experience and the positive reputation of the Siddiquis from Gogglebox to help motivate and inspire school children.

Speaking at the conference, Mr Siddiqui praised Chesterfield’s approach to collaborative working but urged that it should be a lifelong strategy in individuals’ lives if people are to achieve their potential.

He said: “Research has shown that children in receipt of free school meals or the Pupil Premium are typically 18 months behind their peers academically. Collaboration, amongst other strategies, can help bridge the attainment gap between children in receipt of free school meals and Pupil Premium and their peers by five months.”

“Social mobility does not start and stop in school; it starts from birth and continues throughout life. Unless there is a collaboration between schools and local businesses to inspire people at all ages and levels, then there is the possibility of a disconnect in skills and disadvantaged young people will not benefit from those jobs.”

D2N2 North Derbyshire Careers Hub

The Employability and Skills Conference was supported by the D2N2 North Derbyshire Careers Hub.

The Careers Hub is an initiative between D2N2 and the Careers and Enterprise Company designed to improve the life chances of the region’s young people.

Chesterfield currently has one of the highest rates of students on free school meals in Derbyshire. Currently, there is a 4% growth in skilled jobs in Chesterfield which employers are struggling to fill, particularly in the engineering and communications sectors.

That figure is set to grow further as multimillion-pound PEAK, Chesterfield Waterside, Northern Gateway and Staveley Works developments start to come out of the ground.

Cllr Tricia Gilby, Leader of Chesterfield Borough Council commented: “Chesterfield is experiencing record levels of investment and can rightly call itself a billion-pound town. Skills are at the heart of a successful economy, which is why we must develop the skills of local people to ensure they can access the many opportunities that are being created now and over the next five years in Chesterfield and the surrounding area. Already considerable collaboration and effort is taking place across North Derbyshire to ensure future skills meet the demand.”

With more than 14,000 students in North Derbyshire set to gain their GCSE and A level qualifications in the next five years, education and business leaders are working together to develop solutions that will ensure a strong pipeline of talent is being developed in order to provide a future workforce with the skills required by employers.

Latest News & Events

19 July 2024

Local business support boosted with launch of Early Stage Angel Investment Fund

Read Article

21 June 2024

Spotlight on our Board: Scott Knowles, Chief Executive, East Midlands Chamber, on the D2N2 LEP transition and East Midlands devolution

Read Article

11 June 2024

The D2N2 LEP staff team joins the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA)

Read Article

07 June 2024

Becky Rix, Marketing Director at Roadgas, explains why Roadgas is a proud member of the East Midlands Hydrogen Consortium

Read Article

05 June 2024

Spotlight on our Board: D2N2 LEP Board Member Natasha Johnson, Director of Partnerships at Global Entrepreneurs UK

Read Article

05 June 2024

Free Expert Business Advice and Support available through East Midlands Chamber’s Accelerator Programme

Read Article

03 June 2024

Spotlight on our Board: D2N2 LEP Board Member Professor Edward Peck CBE, Vice-Chancellor and President, Nottingham Trent University

Read Article

24 May 2024

Focus on the East Midlands: our time is NOW!

Read Article

24 May 2024

D2N2 LEP CEO, Will Morlidge, shares our East Midlands Hydrogen ambitions at UKREiiF

Read Article

24 May 2024

East Midlands Freeport and Freeport East Sign Green Freight Corridor Initiative at UKREiiF

Read Article

Get in touch.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up
Address

D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership
8 Experian Way
Nottingham
Nottinghamshire
NG2 1EP

Social

Our Partners