Huddersfield business people have been urged to make a new year’s resolution – to play their part in ensuring young people leave school with the right skills to land a job.
Kirklees employers have been invited to join more than 100 regional business leaders who have joined the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Enterprise Adviser Network.
The network engages with a third of all schools in the City Region – which covers Kirklees – and supports 3,500 pupils to gain workplace skills and experience.
The free service sees senior business figures working with schools to help create and implement careers and enterprise action plans – giving employers direct involvement in shaping the skills of school leavers.
The call for more businesses to get involved follows a new report which forecasts a growing demand in coming years for skilled workers in the region – particularly in science, research, engineering and technology roles.
LEP chairman Roger Marsh said: “It is essential that our school leavers have the right mix of skills needed by employers to help ensure that the Leeds City Region remains competitive with the rest of the UK.
“Our Enterprise Adviser Network aims to create and strengthen links between business and education in the local area and equip young people with the core skills needed to join the workforce.”
Mr Marsh said: “We had great results from the pilot scheme but we are aiming to do even better by reaching every school in the region by 2018 and involving more than 160 businesses – representing each sector of our economy from finance to manufacturing.
“For our advisers, as little as a few hours of their time a year spent going into schools and giving inspiring talks at assembly, mentoring young people or developing in-depth skills training plans, can make a huge difference to the employment prospects of young people in the City Region.”
As part of the report, the LEP also conducted research into job adverts in the region and identified the skills employers find most desirable in candidates.
Communication skills were found to be one of the most sought-after attributes, appearing in a third of job postings. Other top skill types in demand include organisational skills, planning, writing and problem solving.
The Enterprise Adviser programme aims to develop these skills by providing young people with four or more interactions with the world of work each year, as well as raising awareness of the types of careers available in the region.
Employers can find out more by contacting the LEP on enterpriseadvisers@the-lep.com or by visiting the-lep.com/enterpriseadvisers.
