Government Minister Robert Halfon met with local employers and apprentices during a visit to Loughborough College as part of National Careers Week.
The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education also spoke with officers from the LLEP Careers Hub as he learned about its work with the college and other schools and employers in the area.
Mr Halfon went on to meet representatives of CR Civil Engineering and Cadent to ask about why they get involved with local apprenticeship programmes and how it can be made easier for more employers to get involved.
Both companies are part of the LLEP Careers Hub’s Cornerstone Employer Group – 10 local firms, with a strong focus on inclusion, which serve as an informal steering group.
Earlier in the day, Mr Halfon had toured Loughborough College and met with Baroness Nicky Morgan, Chair of the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), and CEC Chief Executive Oli de Botton.
Baroness Morgan chaired a round table discussion of local careers provision, which included an introduction to the Leicestershire Careers Hub from LLEP Careers Hub Lead Gerarde Manley.
She was joined at the table by Jo Maher, the college’s CEO, Loughborough MP Jane Hunt, and apprentices and employers who work with both the Careers Hub and Loughborough College.
Baroness Morgan said: “Loughborough College is a fantastic example of what modern careers education is all about.As a result of well-structured careers programmesyoung people are becoming more career ready. They now meet and know more about local employers and pathways like apprenticeships.
“All this work is being driven locally by the Careers and Enterprise Company’s Careers Hub, connecting with the local economy and helping to improve provision in schools and colleges – building young people’s social capital, so they are ready for the future.”
Carl Roberts, MD at CR Civil Engineering, said: “The important work that the LLEP Careers Hub and its Cornerstone Employer Group do hopefully brings a little bit of influence from the employer side and gets our voices heard in education.”
