Central Bedfordshire Council’s Find Your Future careers and employment fair proved a big success, with more than 800 people passing through the doors of The Rufus Centre, over the course of the day.

This was the Council’s second Find Your Future annual event, organised in conjunction with headline sponsors Central Bedfordshire College, and took place on Wednesday 28 November.

It saw leading businesses exhibiting on the day from a range of different sectors, while visitors also had the chance to secure work experience, traineeships, apprenticeships and employment opportunities, while trying out the interactive demonstrations on the day, which included a media suite, hairdressing and virtual reality.

Around 440 pupils from 14 schools and academies attended a morning session, with all benefitting from at least one of the 25 information sessions, delivered by key speakers and local employers, such as Millbrook, Center Parcs, Lockheed Martin, Liebherr GB Ltd, Kier Group and MJ Hillson Group. Visitors also had the chance to speak with representatives from more than 50 different exhibitors.

That was followed by residents, who attending in the afternoon, many of whom benefitted from a National Careers Service information and advice session.

There were also a series of inspiring talks, one of which was delivered by Chief Executive Richard Carr, who spoke to a group of school pupils on his rise, from collecting bins, to the top job at Central Bedfordshire Council.

Councillor Steven Dixon, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: “This is such a valuable event for young people in Central Bedfordshire, because it puts them in the same room with employers and training providers, so they can start to discuss, explore and plan ahead for what they want to do in life.

“It was a pleasure to attend and see so much vibrancy and enthusiasm, not just from school pupils and jobseekers, but also the businesses, organisations, training providers and staff who helped to make the day so engaging, particularly the interactive zone, which was thriving with activity.”  

Nigel Young, Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “I would like to thank the businesses and organisations that took place in Find Your Future. We work very hard with local employers to understand their requirements in terms of skills to meet the needs of their workforce, events such as this are important in not only building those relationships, but creating a relaxed environment where employers and prospective employees can learn from each other.”

Keir Construction’s Katie Nightingale said she: “interacted with lots of really engaged children who are thinking about their careers. It’s been a great event for Kier.”

Students from Sandy Upper School, shared their experience of the Find Your Futures careers event, saying: “We did the Woburn Safari Park talk and found it very inspiring. It gave us an insight into the many types of jobs at the Safari Park; it’s not just working with animals.”

One local resident, named Helen, said: “It was great to speak to companies about job opportunities for disabled young people. We felt we struck gold when we found the Department for Work and Pensions stand and learnt all about Disability Confident.  We came away feeling much happier about our daughter’s future.”

More information can be found at: Find Your Future