SkillsFest is an exciting, impartial careers & skills event for Cumbria & North Lancashire, organised by Inspira, Kendal College, Cumbria LEP and Hello Future.
National speakers, employers, universities, colleges, voluntary organisations and careers & business advisors will be at Kendal College on Saturday 17th November, 10am – 3pm, to raise awareness of the wide variety of exciting opportunities available to the community.
The event is for the whole family: young people at school or college, adults looking to career change or progress in their job, people looking for work – everyone is welcome.
Keynote speakers include Kamal Hyman (National Entrepreneur of the Year in 2015), Richard McCann (an inspirational speaker with a unique story and iCan philosophy) and Andrew ‘Bernie’ Bernard (Director of Innovative Enterprise).
Organisations attending the event will come from a range of different sectors; from Charities and Voluntary Services through to the Finance, Engineering and Health Care industries. Confirmed attendees so far include: LIPA (The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts), BAE Systems, University of Cumbria, Women in Engineering, Lancaster University, Film on the Brain, The Cumberland Building Society, Electricity North West, The Outward Bound Trust, REED Global, The Royal Navy, Manchester Metropolitan University, Inspira, Teeside University and many more. Over 60 organisations have booked to attend so far.
The event will be run across both Kendal College campuses, enabling attendees to explore the facilities, talk to tutors and discover the opportunities available at all local colleges, including Lancaster & Morecambe College, Newton Rigg College, Myerscough College and Kendal College.
Attendees will be able to hear about the range of careers available and explore the different ways to access them, including apprenticeships, full-time & part-time courses, degree level study and volunteering.
Damian Bonsall, Enterprise Coordinator at Inspira, said: “As one of the organisers of the original SkillsFest event in Furness, Inspira are delighted and excited to be associated with SkillsFest South Lakes. This is a fantastic opportunity for people to find out about the amazing breadth of opportunities available to them. Local companies and a range of pathway providers will be able to showcase the options and the skills required for success. The speakers are outstanding. The Careers Hub in this county is now bringing new focus to collaborative working and SkillsFest is such a great example of schools, Kendal College, Hello Future and other partners working together.”
Kelvin Nash, Principal at Kendal College, said: “Kendal College is proud to host the first SkillsFest for the South Lakes area. The event will bring together a number of high profile employers, support agencies and voluntary organisations, and put them in touch with a pool of people, that could become their employees of the future. It is promising to be a great day, and I look forward to welcoming you there.”
Lisa Jackson, Programme Manager for Hello Future at the University of Cumbria said: “Hello Future is pleased to be able to bring together higher education providers and employers to help inform local people of future options. This event builds on the success of SkillsFest Furness and supports the wider range of opportunities provided by Hello Future.”
For more information on the event and to see the full list of employees and training providers attending, visit www.skillsfest.co.uk.
Organisations interesting in attending should email [email protected].