Solent LEP brings together business and education to help young people reach their potential

On Tuesday 12 July, the Solent LEP brought together partners working across education, training and business at a Careers Summit, to share best practice, discuss career opportunities for young people in the Solent region and debate how to develop a world-class talent base to meet employers' needs.

The Solent LEP works with local schools and colleges, universities, training providers, employers and career professionals to support careers, training and skills development across the Solent region.

Rachael Randall, Chair of the Solent LEP, said: “We were thrilled with the turnout at the summit and are incredibly grateful to all those that supported the event. Careers and future skills provision are incredibly important topics, and it was encouraging to see so many delegates participating in the discussion.

“For our region to prosper we need to ensure that we bridge the gap between business and academia. Making sure people have the right skills to progress their careers at the same time as ensuring businesses have the talent they need for success has never been more important. This can be achieved through supporting young people to seek out and discover what career opportunities exist, and by listening to employers to ensure that the skills and training being delivered meets their needs now and in the future.”

The aim of the summit was to bring together local careers leaders and businesses, as well as the Solent’s volunteer Enterprise Advisers, who are recruited from local organisations to work at a strategic level with the senior management teams at schools and colleges to help prepare young people for the world of work.

The Enterprise Advisers in attendance were from a broad range of organisations including BAE Systems, Fedcap (Social Enterprise), EDI Exchange Data International (Finance), PJ Chaffin (Tree Surgery) and Latitude Recruitment (Engineering & Manufacturing).

If you are interested in finding out more about Enterprise Advisers and how to volunteer - please visit our Careers and Skills Hub.