Suffolk Skills and Careers Festival welcomes sponsors

Suffolk’s premier employer led skills and careers event is back at Trinity Park on Wednesday 16^th October 2019 from 09.00 to 15.00. The Suffolk Skills and Careers Festival is organised by Trinity Park Events in association with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, Suffolk and Norfolk County Councils with overarching support from The New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership.

Phillip Ainsworth, Chief Executive Officer of the Suffolk Agricultural Association and Trinity Park Events Ltd said; “We are delighted to be working with some of the leading companies in the region and would like to extend our thanks to Easton and Otley College for their continued support as food and farming sector sponsor, EDF as energy sector sponsor and Morgan Sindall and Lovell as construction sector sponsors. Their sponsorship ensures the young people in the county are supported by these representative industries.”

The Festival attracts around 4,500 young people from local schools and colleges. The Suffolk and Norfolk teams are extending access across both counties to ensure that schools and colleges can attend one of two shows in the year ahead. Norfolk’s Festival will be held on March 4^th and 5^th 2020.

The Suffolk Skills and Careers Festival features around 100 exhibitors from education providers and local businesses offering apprenticeships and career opportunities covering thirteen different industry sectors.

Michelle Pollard from Spider and Chair and Business Advocate of the Suffolk event said; “It is important to cover as many different sectors and a wide variety of businesses within those industry sectors to allow the young people attending the chance to discover new opportunities. The exhibitors are all encouraged to bring interactive displays to engage the young people and allow them to try out different things and to inspire them to understand what is on offer in the local community”

The Festival is open to 14 to 24 year-olds and plays an important part in the career journey for all age groups. The interactivity inspires the young people to discover what they may like to do in the future and allows them to think about the options they may take for GCSE and A-Levels. They are encouraged to talk to the exhibitors about which subjects they will need to focus on to achieve their goals. There are also opportunities for companies to talk to prospective apprentices and young people looking to leave education imminently and to be inspired by the range of different career paths.

Councillor Gordon Jones, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills speaking on behalf of Suffolk County Council, the lead partner for the Suffolk event said:

“Suffolk County Council is delighted that the Skills & Careers Festival has been such a success with a diverse range of exhibitors, and fantastic participation from local schools.  We would like to thank the organisers Suffolk Agricultural Association for taking on and evolving this event for 2019 and the sponsors, exhibitors and supporters, without whom this inspirational event with all of its ‘hands on activities’ and employer and educational resources would not be possible.

I would also like to extend my gratitude to the dedicated school and college staff who work so hard to prepare and bring students on the day, we hope they enjoyed the event, discovered potential new career paths, and have been inspired about what they want to do after school and how to achieve it”.

New at the Festival for 2019 is an Advice Lounge, which is run by Beacon East. Parents are encouraged to sign-up on the Trinity Park website as visitors in order to meet advisors with their child to gain independent advice.

A big thank you to our supporting sponsors: Orwell Housing Association and The British Army representing the public services sector, Chassis Cab representing the advanced manufacturing and engineering sector and Archant, the print and publications sector.

For further information visit the Trinity Park Events website.