“Ensuring we have opportunities for our young people will make Chesterfield a more attractive place to live, work, and invest”
Chesterfield is currently undergoing a period of major regeneration, and with this change comes opportunity.
New developments in the town, such as Chesterfield Waterside, Markham Vale and the Hartington sites in Staveley are really coming to life now – thanks to councils and businesses working together closely.
Thousands of new homes are currently being built across the borough, which will attract new families seeking an affordable and friendly place to live, with access to good schools and plenty of green spaces.
I was delighted to hear the news that Chesterfield was ranked recently as the second-best town in the UK to raise children. This is a testament to the work of several organisations across the area.
Furthermore, Chesterfield’s ambitious growth plans are creating exciting career options for our young people. A key sector of growth locally is property and construction. Did you know that in this sector alone, around 17,500 new recruits will be required across the East Midlands between 2023-2027?
As a town, we must keep encouraging our young people to consider careers which are offering secure, skilled, and well-paid employment. To that end, it is pleasing to hear that 12 work placements have been offered to students locally by business leaders from the Chesterfield Property and Construction Group. All credit to the innovative ‘Careers Made in Chesterfield’ project, in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council.
Representatives from local firms inspired students by speaking about the wide range of roles available in the property sector, carrying out a series of workshops and face-to-face mentoring sessions with students based at Parkside Community School.
At the beginning of the scheme, only 20% of pupils said they would be interested in a role in property and construction. When asked again at the end of the project, that figure had doubled to 40%. This shows that a hands-on approach can really work in engaging our young people.
As a town, Chesterfield is used to rolling up its sleeves and tackling issues head-on, and this is another example of how our people are continuing to work hard in delivering the changes we all want to see.
Innovative projects, such as the new Construction Skills Hub being developed in Staveley will further boost jobs in the sector, training thousands of local people. It excites me to think that the next generation of builders, architects, surveyors, and designers will be trained in our area.
Ensuring we have opportunities for our young people will make Chesterfield a more attractive place to live, work, and invest. With investment comes jobs, and with jobs comes further growth and prosperity. This is why it is vital we continue to make our future generations aware of the breadth of opportunities available to them, right here on our doorstep.
