Event inspires more than 1,000 Hyndburn students

More than 1,000 Year 11 students from across Hyndburn discovered the wealth of career, education and training opportunities available on their doorstep at the latest #AmazingAccrington Futures Event.

Held at Accrington Stanley’s Wham Stadium on Friday, the popular event brought together students with leading employers, training organisations and education providers from across the region, helping young people explore their options as they prepare to take their next steps after school.

Students from Mount Carmel, The Hyndburn Academy, The Hollins, Rhyddings, St Christopher’s CE High School and Accrington Academy attended the event, speaking directly to organisations about careers, apprenticeships, training and further education.

A fantastic range of opportunities were showcased throughout the day, with organisations including the Royal Air Force, Safran, The Senator Group, Vital Synergy, The Calico Group, Onward, Hyndburn Borough Council and Accrington Stanley Community Trust among those meeting and engaging with students.

The event gave young people the opportunity to ask questions, find out what employers are looking for and discover career pathways they may not previously have considered, while businesses and organisations were able to meet the next generation of local talent.

Partners for the #AmazingAccrington Futures Event included Accrington Stanley, Accrington and Rossendale College – part of the East Lancashire Learning Group – and Blackburn College.

Murray Dawson, Chair of #AmazingAccrington and managing director of Scott Dawson Advertising, said: “It has been another really successful Futures Event, and it was fantastic to see more than 1,000 young people coming through the doors and really engaging with the organisations that were here.

“We constantly strive to deliver better communication on apprenticeships and further education, including options to avoid NEETs. We strategically run this event in October before the Christmas break, to show students the opportunities available to them.”

Jess Ross, cluster careers lead for The Hyndburn Academy and Accrington Academy, said: “The key for today is making sure that our students are speaking to some of our local employers and to talk about the apprenticeship opportunities available to them. They have been excited all week, asking a lot of questions about it and it’s nice to see them having these positive conversations.”

Melanie Wright, schools team lead/outreach at East Lancashire Learning Group, said: “It has been super busy today, loads of students from the Hyndburn secondary schools, they’ve been applying, they’ve been getting involved in all our activities, it has been fantastic.”

Elisha Cox, student recruitment coordinator at Blackburn College, said: “As a neighbouring town it is absolutely fantastic to support #AmazingAccrington. It is fantastic that the Hyndburn students have been able to experience all the local colleges, employers and get to really think about their next steps and their future.”

Warren Eastham, chief executive of Accrington Stanley, said: “Today in the 1968 Lounge, we have seen many youngsters trying to find a way into the next phase of their education or careers, and it is great to see so many exhibitors who are going to create the next opportunities for these guys and it is a privilege to have them all here.”