Inspiring the young through networking careers fair

A careers fair event in Lynn last week was designed to help more young people in the area progress to higher education.

Futures Go Live! highlighted career and study options for students within West Norfolk during the event at Lynnsport.

With statistics showing young people going on to higher education in areas of Lynn and West Norfolk as low as 12 per cent, the event hoped to help increase this number.

Indeed, the higher education percentage is significantly lower than a national average of 50 per cent.

Running from 10am to 3pm on Thursday, the fair allowed students in years 9 to 13 interact with local employers, universities, colleges, apprenticeship providers and industry professionals.

A wide selection of exhibitions were in attendance including NatWest, the Army, NHS and the Construction Industry Training Board.

So too were a broad range of universities and further education colleges.

Tom Levinson of Cambridge University, who is the project manager for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (NEACO, was among those in attendance.

NEACO was launched in January 2017 and aims to help young people from East Anglia “with little or no experience of university to explore the world of higher education”.

Mr Levinson said: “A really enjoyable NEACO event in King’s Lynn, choc-a-bloc with quality exhibitors and young people full of ambition.

“We should all love West Norfolk”.

Borough mayor Nick Daubney was also on hand to see what is available to young people in the area.

Mr Daubney said: “It was really impressive to give young people experience of all the options available to them.

“It did clarify the wide range of options available and provided lots of ideas of what to do.

“What I found exciting is there are more opportunities available now, but people still have to look at things in the right way”.

Government statistics showed the Higher Education Initial Participation Rate was 50 per cent for the East of England in 2016/17, the second highest area in the UK behind London.

But as Mr Daubney suggested, the Futures Go Live! events cater for a broad range of ambitions and interests.

He said: “We are all very different people and some will be academic, some more technical or commercial.

“I have been to events like this before but they were much more localised”.