Swindon and Wiltshire announced as ‘Careers Hub’ to help transform careers education

Swindon and Wiltshire is to become one of 20 ‘Careers Hubs’ around England to help transform careers education for young people.

The Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub will be made up of 40 local schools and colleges working together with universities, training providers, employers and career professionals to improve careers education.

Careers Hubs are a central part of the Government’s Careers Strategy, published in December. The strategy aims to improve careers education and help prepare young people for the world of work.

The Government asked The Careers & Enterprise Company to scale up a model successfully piloted in the north east by establishing 20 Careers Hubs across the country, allocating five million pounds over a two-year period to support the Hubs.

The Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub will have access to support and funding to help them meet the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of excellent careers education. This includes:

• A ‘Hub Lead’ to help coordinate activity and build networks
• Access to bursaries for individual schools and colleges to train ‘careers leaders’
• Central Hub Fund equivalent to around one thousand pounds per school or college
• Access to funding for schools to support employer encounters

Amanda Burnside, board member of the Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership and chair of the Skills and Talent Sub-group, said: “Enabling businesses to have an appropriately skilled and competitive workforce to support growth, innovation and creativity remains an investment priority for the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP). The Swindon and Wiltshire Careers Hub will build on the good work that is already happening between schools and employers such as The Enterprise Advisor Network, so that together we provide the workforce and skills needed now and in the future for strong economic growth.”

Claudia Harris, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: "We're excited by the potential impact of the Hubs. If employers, schools and colleges can better prepare young people for the world of work, we're not just benefiting the future economy, but improving prospects for thousands of young people.”