Careers event draws in local businesses and 1,000 students

Dozens of businesses and 1,000 students were brought together for the Work Inspiration careers day at Burnley’s Thomas Whitham Sixth Form centre.

The event went beyond a traditional careers fair and featured zones within the site that were  dedicated to sectors such as Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Construction and Sustainability, Creative and Digital, Retail and Leisure, Business and Professional Services and Public Sector.

One of the businesses taking part in the event was Aircelle, who hosted last year’s inaugural Work Inspiration event in Burnley.

Helen Gopsill, Aircelle’s HR director, said: “As Burnley’s largest private sector employer with 1,000 employees in Burnley, we take our commitment to our town and community very seriously.

“We support Work Inspiration because we want to show people that there are great opportunities for them at Aircelle and that it’s a great place to work. After the success of last year’s event at the Aircelle site, I’m especially pleased that Work Inspiration is establishing itself and that so many businesses are taking part again – it provides a broad perspective of what is on offer for young people in Burnley. I’d love to see it becoming sustainable and taking place every year.”

Stuart Smith, the head teacher at Thomas Whittam said: “It was great to play host to Work Inspiration and see the event supported by so many local businesses. I was really impressed with the demonstrations that many business had organised to ensure that the school students who attended got a real hands on experience.

“Work Inspiration is demonstrating that Burnley’s education sector is successfully working with business in the area to give our school students choice and opportunity to work for great career progression in the town. “There’s a lot of positivity in Burnley at the moment. We have great schools, university campuses and some really excellent innovative businesses. With the rail link to Manchester and work now starting on Weaver’s Triangle, we’re very optimistic about Burnley’s future.”