The day saw 800 students from schools and colleges throughout the district visit the cathedral to explore careers opportunities with representatives from a range of professions.
Students networked with potential employers and were able to learn about different career prospects after leaving school. Representatives from a number of companies were exhibiting including LGC, Thurlow Nuun, Standen, Turners and JDR Cables as well as The Royal Air Force and West Suffolk College.
The Fair was sponsored by Thorlabs with West Suffolk College sponsoring the Apprenticeship Area, Shearline Precision Engineering, The Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach and the Employability Partnership sponsoring transport and Tesco Ely and Labourtech sponsoring refreshments.
East Cambridgeshire District Council supported and promoted the event now in its fourth year and representatives from the council were among the exhibitors at the fair. They discussed the variety of roles available and how they can help their community by working in the council and encouraged them to look in to future careers in the sector.
Rebecca Sussex from the Skills Service said: “We are extremely pleased that the skills fair continues to be so well supported. The students really enjoyed the day and we hope that it’s helped to guide them towards fulfilling future careers”.
Cllr Lis Every attended the event and said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for students to take time out of their normal school day to explore future options. There are so many avenues that young people can take after school, events like this are really useful to guide them and to let them demonstrate their networking skills”.
One of the schools in attendance was Ely College. Nikki Pritchett, Work-related Learning and Enterprise Co-ordinator said: “It has been great to see how useful the students have found this day and the feedback we’ve had from them has been really positive. Fairs like this really help to open their eyes to the opportunities available to them and help students to consider paths they might not have considered before”.
Students were encouraged to get involved with activities ranging from Jenga to hair and makeup demonstrations.
Businesses wishing to access further help should call 01353 616 450 and ask to speak to Darren Hill or e-mail darren.hill@eastcambs.gov.uk
More information on the event can be found at www.enterpriseeastcambs.co.uk