Cumbria Careers Day to become an annual event #CumbriaCareersDay
Enterprising Cumbria has confirmed that following the resounding success of its inaugural Cumbria Careers Day last year it will now become an annual showcase of all the career opportunities in Cumbria.
Last year, more than 100 organisations from across Cumbria backed Cumbria Careers Day, and it is hoped that in its second year more businesses and third sector organisations will get involved.
Cumbria Careers Day will always be held on the Wednesday of National Careers Week. This year’s event on Wednesday 5 March, is designed to promote the excellent careers that are available across the county and to encourage people to develop and build their careers here.
With just over one month to go, the lead organiser Enterprising Cumbria is hoping to encourage more education providers and employers, of all sizes and in every sector to get involved.
Isobel Brown, Director of Programmes explained:
“We know that there are currently more than 8,000 vacant jobs in the county with employers across many sectors reporting acute labour supply shortages and high numbers of unfilled vacancies. Many of our businesses tell us that attracting and retaining people is one of the most significant challenges that they face. This is across businesses of every size, and in every sector. Therefore, developing, growing and retaining talent is essential to our economy and businesses. There are fabulous careers available in Cumbria and it is really important that everybody understands the breadth of opportunities that are available here.”
Cath Dutton, Enterprising Cumbria’s Strategic Careers Lead, who is leading the work added: “As part of a wide range of activity that is planned by employers and education providers, we are asking more organisations to pledge their support and come together as a community on one day to celebrate all of the great careers and jobs on offer in the county to people of all ages. We already have excellent support and this is now the opportunity to take it to the next level.”
Cath added: “Businesses can join our ‘did you know?’ social media campaign and post interesting facts about their workplace. Or share videos and case studies of what goes on in their organisation, as well as provide details of the jobs that people do and how they got there. Employers can also visit their local school to answer questions about their business and job opportunities.”
Jayne Moorby, Chair of the Cornerstone Employer Group encourages more organisations to get involved. She said:
“I hope other businesses join us on Wednesday 5 March to highlight the opportunities in their organisation. We will be joining the social media campaign, sharing employee case studies and offering to give a careers’ talk at a local school. Together we can encourage young people to choose a motivating next step in Cumbria.
“These real-world insights can be really inspiring and help motivate our people of all ages to explore the opportunities available to them. They demonstrate the incredible variety of jobs that are available in Cumbria’s economy. #CumbriaCareersDay is for both those starting out on their career and those looking to return to the labour market. We hope that it will really showcase the jobs and careers that are on offer.”
To help schools, colleges and businesses of all sizes to get involved Enterprising Cumbria has produced a range of resources.