#AmazingAccrington Futures event engages 1,000 Hyndburn Year 11s

The second #AmazingAccrington Futures event saw all Year 11s in Hyndburn from each secondary school - some 1,000 young people - had the opportunity to meet with businesses, and be given information on future career pathways.

The event was attended by the Mayor of Hyndburn, the local MP and council leader, who were delighted to see engaged and lively pupils finding out all about the companies attending.

The aim of the event is to inspire and provide informed choices, for the young people of Hyndburn. Exhibitors from local businesses, Higher Education establishments, training providers, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, and Tech sectors were represented.

Employers such as the Police and the Army joined local companies including Studio Retail Ltd, Property Shop, Trinity Care Group, E&R and Daisy Communications in showcasing their many and varied career paths.

Exciting exhibits included an augmented reality welding machine at WEC, vintage computers at The Code Show, a Wheel of Fortune at Property Shop, and a Splat the Rat from Hyndburn Borough Council. Each exhibitor was able to hand over and explain lots of information to the young people, whether they were thinking of choosing an Apprenticeship, College or future University courses.

Coun Miles Parkinson, leader of Hyndburn Borough Council commented: "This is a fantastic event bringing employers and education together, to show these young people different career and education choices right here in Hyndburn. I hope they were all inspired today, and go on to achieve big things!"

Sara Britcliffe MP added: "Last year's event was inspirational to see, and I am looking forward to great things from this year's event. Inspiring our young people to raise their ambitions is so important for Hyndburn. These young people are the future of our borough."

Heath Groves, CEO of Sundown Solutions, commented: "Amazing Accrington have been key to introducing us to schools, enabling us to inform them about high quality tech jobs right here in Accrington - we have recruited people from these events, and I hope this event inspires many more."

Gareth Lindsay, MD of North Lancs Training Group, added: "Apprenticeships are something the young people might not have considered or would like more information about.  We have nearly 300 live Apprenticeship vacancies in a great variety of different fields. The Futures event is an ideal opportunity to get that message across to every Year 11 student, and allow them to earn while they learn."

James Oldroyd, L&D business partner at Studio Retail Ltd, said: "We're the largest employer in Hyndburn, and I want to make sure every young person knows the wide variety of good careers we have on offer here at Studio."

Hayley Stewart, school liaison officer for Accrington & Rossendale College, added: "We recently received an Outstanding Ofsted rating, as part of Nelson and Colne College Group, and this event is a great way for us to highlight why we are the only Outstanding Further Education college in Lancashire and how we support young people across the region to achieve beyond their goals."

The Futures event was sponsored by North Lancs Training Group, Studio Retail Ltd and Accrington and Rossendale College.

#AmazingAccrington has an area of their website for Opportunities, showcasing education, training, apprenticeships and opportunities. This can be found here: opportunities.amazingaccrington.co.uk

Top picture caption: L-R Sara Britcliffe MP, Cllr Abdul Khan, Gareth Lindsay of NLTG, Cllr Miles Parkinson OBE, Scott Barnes of Studio Retail Ltd, and Hayley Stewart of Accrington and Rossendale College at the Futures Event

Middle picture caption: Year 11s at the Amazing Accrington Futures Event at Accrington Town Hall

Bottom picture caption: Students from St Christopher's Year 11 at the Amazing Accrington Futures Event at Accrington Town Hall