Last month, an event in Newcastle upon Tyne celebrated the impact careers guidance can have on people’s lives, and brought together careers guidance professionals to access training opportunities. Mark Fox, Careers Hub Facilitator at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) shares some highlights.

Back in 2018 the North East LEP started a network for qualified careers advisers who work in schools and colleges in our region, to share good practice across the North East. The network grew and, last month, we hosted our second conference, to celebrate the work careers advisers do in our region and to help them access training.

There’s a national shortage of careers advisers, including in the North East, and we wanted to really celebrate how important this role is, and also give existing careers advisers opportunities to upskill and focus on their own professional development, as well as that of the people they work with.

Our keynote speaker was Professor Pete Robertson from Edinburgh Napier University, who emphasised that careers guidance is all about ambition and opportunity, and demonstrated the links between careers guidance and the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Everything about careers guidance is positive and it has such an important impact on young people’s wellbeing and aspirations – and also on societies and economies. It’s about more than just work, it’s about identity, health, and making a contribution.

The North East LEP’s Economic Analyst, Thomas Athey, presented research into emergent markets in our region like cloud computing, software development and robotics, which will be shaping the careers and opportunities of the future.

And Nexus’s HR Director, Rachel Redshaw, shared how Nexus now uses values-based recruitment methods, focusing on ambition and aspiration. It’s a really interesting development which links with the new, holistic framework for careers guidance.  

Before the event, we asked members of the network what training and professional development they’d like to access and, as a result, were able to link them with a range of opportunities, including the new skills bootcamps which are being rolled out in our region, covering topics including careers advice and guidance.

We know that members also want to stay up to date on new markets, so will be arranging learning visits to employers in growth sectors in our region, so advisers can keep up to date with what’s happening in areas like energy, health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing and digital.

That’s just a taster of the day. There was a real buzz and it was brilliant to be able to bring people together face to face.

I hope we managed to convey just how important the work of careers advisers is, especially post-COVID. It’s gives people agency, ambition, and control over decisions about their future.

We’d love to see more North East careers advisers at our next event, so if you’d like to join the network, email me on [email protected].