Thousands of young people visited the first day of Derbyshire Skills Festival − the county’s largest careers event.

Derbyshire County Council, who organise this event with Derby City Council and is aimed at students aged 15 to 19, including those in Year 11 who are considering their options after school.

The first of this year’s 3 events was held at Queen’s Park Sports Centre in Chesterfield on Thursday 14 September with employers, colleges, training providers and voluntary organisations offering free support and guidance.

Young people also got the chance to take part in have-a-go sessions including engineering, media and health and social care.

This week Derbyshire Skills Festival moves on to The Roundhouse, Derby College, Derby on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 September.

Councillor Alex Dale, Cabinet Member for Young People at Derbyshire County Council, said:-

“We’re delighted with this year’s turnout to the Derbyshire Skills Festival in Chesterfield − it was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic young people exploring all of their career options.

“We received lots of positive feedback from students on how useful they found the event and the fun-packed ‘have-a-go’ sessions were very popular too.

“The festival moves to Derby this week so if anyone missed the Chesterfield event they can come long to the Roundhouse, Derby College on either Wednesday or Thursday and I am very much looking forward to meeting some of the students there.

“I’d like to thank everyone involved for making the event such a success.”

There will also be sessions for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and young people who aren’t in education, employment or training will also be invited.

In the wake of Chesterfield being named as the UKs first official ‘Apprentice Town’ in April, the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) is supporting the initiative by seeking to recruit two Business Administration Apprentices to work at its Markham Vale headquarters.

With 4,000 jobs set to be created in and around Chesterfield in the next four years, the Apprentice Town scheme is key to attracting more employers to invest in the town, by ensuring the availability of a highly skilled workforce – something UKATA is keen to support and benefit from over the coming years.

Craig Evans, General Manager at UKATA, said:-

“With headquarters at Markham Vale, UKATA has a strong commitment to Chesterfield and we are proud to be part of the Apprentice Town initiative.

“Access to a skilled workforce is essential for business and we are looking forward to welcoming the first of what we hope will be just the first of many apprentices to walk through our doors. Working for UKATA is a fantastic opportunity for someone to develop key skills with a major national association with global links.”

With a closing date of 22 September, a full summary of the apprenticeship, including the salary, job description and qualifications and personal qualities necessary for the successful candidate can be found here.

Support for the Apprentice Town scheme complements UKATAs role with the Chesterfield Champions, a thriving network of 170 local organisations committed to raising the profile of the town and highlighting the advantages the region offers business. Manufacturing employment in Chesterfield is still above the national average and this latest scheme promises to deliver another welcome boost to the local economy.

Provisional results show that 75% of Year 11 students in Derbyshire achieved grades four to nine in English this year and 59% achieved grades five to nine.

In maths, 70% of Year 11 students achieved grades four to nine and 49% achieved grades five to nine.

The traditional A* to G grades have been replaced with a nine to one system, with nine being the highest mark.  Grade seven is equivalent to an A under the old system and a four is equivalent to a C.

More than 7,200 students across the county’s 45 secondary schools received their results on Thursday 24 August 2017 with many outstanding stories from both schools and individual students.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Young People Councillor Alex Dale said:

“It’s fantastic news that early indications show our GCSE students have done so well.

“Not only are GCSEs qualifications for life but they also teach young people valuable skills such as time management, organisational skills and revision techniques − skills they can take with them to the next stage of their career − whether that’s vocational or academic.

“I want to congratulate all the students for their hard work and dedication. I also want to thank heads, teachers, staff, governors, parents and our school improvement service for supporting our young people in achieving their success.”

This year English and maths are the first subjects to be graded under the new system. By 2020 all GCSEs will be graded in this way.

Further education or training options open to Year 11 students are:

– full-time education such as sixth form, college or work-based learning
– an apprenticeship
– part-time education or training if they are employed, self-employed or volunteering for more than 20 hours a week.

Councillor Dale added:

“Whatever results students may have received it’s important they know what options are open to them as they stay on in education or training.

“Staying on in education or work-based training opens up a lot of doors for young people and offers a range of opportunities to learn new skills to get a future career they will enjoy.

“Even if students don’t do as well as expected in their GCSEs, schools can put them in touch with advisers who can go through all the options open to them. These include a wide range of vocational qualifications and apprenticeships which will be showcased at our Derbyshire Skills Festival.”

Students aged 15 to 19, including those in Year 11 who are considering their options after school are invited to attend the Derbyshire Skills Festival. This year’s event takes place on Thursday 14th September 2017 (3.30pm – 8.00pm) at Queen’s Park Sports Centre.

Training providers, the Armed Forces, larger employers and our community adult education service will be on hand to talk to young people. They will also be invited to take part in a range of have-a-go activities.

There will be sessions for young people with special educational needs and disabilities and young people who are not in education, employment or training will also be invited.

Congratulations are in order for Jack Rigsby from AvantiGas, who has been honoured as an Apprentice of the Year by Chesterfield College for the second year running, this time being named Apprentice of the Year in BTEC Level 3 Mechanical Engineering.

Jack said that some of the work he’d done previously for A Level Maths had helped him in his BTEC studies, but parts of the syllabus were still challenging:-

“Thermodynamics was probably the most difficult. I’d never done anything like that before, but I still enjoyed it.”

Hydraulics and Pneumatics, another new subject, was also challenging but Jack clearly mastered these new disciplines to win Apprentice of the Year once again.

Neill Cordon, HR Director at Avantigas, said:-

“Jack is a great credit to AvantiGas and his success just confirms why we should continue our commitment to apprenticeships. We believe strongly that apprenticeships help us to meet the vital need to bring new talent into the LPG market to continue to serve off-grid homes and businesses.”

The college citation for Jack’s efforts was glowing:-

“Jack is an outstanding student.

“He is very capable across a range of subjects and he manages himself well. His work is always to a high standard and submitted ahead of deadlines.”

It goes on to say that Jack in fact completed his assignments for the year six weeks early but was happy to use the time he has gained to support his classmates, who value his advice and support.

Jack remains modest in the face of his award and the praise heaped on him:-

“I wasn’t expecting it. I just handed my work in when it was due and didn’t mess around.”

His advice to aspiring apprentices is:-

“Just to put the effort in and get your head down, and get yourself onto higher education if you can.”

“I have one more year to go on my BTEC then I hope to progress on to university after that. It would be studying one day a week, part-time, hopefully at Sheffield Hallam. But it will be worth it in the end.”

The Duke and Duchess of Devonshire’s estate, which includes the famous local attraction of Chatsworth, is offering seven fantastic apprenticeships, to young people with a passion for food and a desire to train as a chef.

The successful apprentices will get the opportunity to work across the Devonshire Group’s three acclaimed restaurants on the Chatsworth Estate during the 13 month apprenticeship, where they will carry out work based learning with tutors from Learning Unlimited, part of the Chesterfield College Group. At the end of the apprenticeship programme successful learners will also be guaranteed positions at one of the restaurants and hotels within the group across Derbyshire and Yorkshire.

Clare Clifton, Group Training & Development Manager for the Devonshire Group at Chatsworth, said:

“We have an excellent track record of supporting apprentices and we are able to provide a range of career opportunities within the Group.  We encourage our chefs to continue their professional development with us and to undertake ongoing study.   In addition to the formal qualification and training, the apprenticeship will include the opportunity to gain experience across a range of restaurants – from fine dining to good pub food, working with our amazing chefs.”

Jordan Garratt, Chef de Partie with the Devonshire Group who trained at Chesterfield College and was a Young Chef of the Year finalist in 2014 told us:-

“The learning possibilities are endless here. The variety of things you get to work on is fantastic and there is a great team atmosphere. Working here is one of the best places to be if you want career progression.”

The Arvato apprenticeship scheme with Chesterfield Borough Council received a special commendation at the inaugural North Midlands and South Yorkshire Apprentice Awards.

The programme has trained a total of 63 local, young people across business administration, customer service and ICT since 2010, with more than half of their apprentices going on to secure full-time, permanent roles at the organisation.

The Chesterfield scheme is one of several programmes which Arvato operates across their portfolio of local government partnerships. Based on a 12 or 18 month NVQ Level 2 qualification, they are designed to ensure the right talent is developed to help their public sector partners tackle the skills challenges they will face in the years ahead.

The awards, which took place in Sheffield on Tuesday 16^th May, aimed to celebrate the best on-the-job training schemes across the region.

Damon Bruce, Head of Customer Centric Services at Chesterfield, commented:-

“Apprenticeships not only provide an important route into the workplace for young people, but they deliver a fresh source of ideas and help build the skill sets and talent local authorities will need for the future. We look forward to building on this success and expanding the opportunities we can offer our apprentices from NVQ Level 2 through to graduate development.”

An apprentice from Chesterfield has become just one of five apprentices nationwide to scoop the Electrical Distributors’ Association’s (EDA) Learner Achievement Award.

Jack Jones, who works at Newey & Eyre, Chesterfield, part of the Rexel group, beat off competition from 270 apprentices from across the UK to win the award, which was announced at a glittering ceremony at London’s iconic Shard recently.

“It’s the best feeling in the world,” said Jack, who was joined at the ceremony by his father David and Newey & Eyre Area Manager, Harj Dosanji who added “Well done to Jack! He’s credit to the branch and to the company. I’ve been a big advocate of the EDA apprentice scheme, and over the last few years I am delighted to say we have produced some great talent for the future. Jack is one shining example.”

The EDA Learner Achievement Awards were presented to 5 apprentices whose hard work and dedication to their training mark them out as rising stars in the sector, and to 7 employees who have shown exemplary performance and dedication to their professional studies as part of the EDA’s Specialist Product Knowledge Programme.

Simon Barkes, EDA President who presented the winners their trophies, said:-

“Business success depends on inspirational managers who can create the right environment for talent to flourish. Equally, their apprentices and employees need to recognise the opportunities on offer and work hard to achieve outstanding results.

“Education and training is a key pillar of the EDA’s work and it is a privilege to celebrate the positive difference that we can create for individuals, teams and businesses.”

Margaret Fitzsimons, EDA Director, said:-

“The EDA is committed to developing a clear career pathway for the sector through a framework of life-long education and training.

“Our celebrations help us to raise the profile of career opportunities in the electrical wholesale sector and underline the investment that the sector is making in employee learning and development. Building talented teams is not easy but our winners are a real credit to the sector and their businesses.”

Businesses, skills providers and apprentices from Chesterfield have been selected as finalists for the inaugural NMSY Apprenticeship Awards.

The awards which are organised by Johnston Press titles including The Derbyshire Times, The Star and the Sheffield Telegraph are celebrating the best on-the-job training.  These awards celebrate and recognise the hardworking individuals and organisations involved in apprenticeships.

Finalists in Chesterfield include:

• Arvato UK
• Auto Windscreens
• Chesterfield Royal Hospital – Ellie Varley
• Chesterfield Royal Hospital – Sarah Hazeldine
• DCAS – Megan Byrne
• Foxwood Diesel – Leigh Worsdale
• Heathcotes Group
• JMJ Pottery – Laura Davies
• Jones & Co Independent Financial Advice – Lucy Staniforth
• Learning Unlimited
• Mitchells Chartered Accountants and Business Advisers
• Rykneld Homes Ltd – Olivia Kirk
• Stephensons Tea and Coffee House
• Treste Hire & Sales
• Magbroach UK

Zena Wardle, from the Headline Sponsor Polypipe said “I felt privileged to be a part of the judging panel for the first year of the NMSY Apprenticeship Awards. I was astounded by the number of entrants and also the high standards and enthusiasm displayed.

Each and every Apprentice, not only the winners are a credit to themselves, their employers and their families and I commend them all.”

The winners of the awards will be announced at the awards ceremony on 16th May.

There are more than 4,000 people currently participating in apprenticeships in Chesterfield. The town is the first in the UK to declare itself an ‘Apprentice Town’, demonstrating its commitment to growing the future and careers of young people alongside business and the economy.

The project was established by Chesterfield Borough Council and Chesterfield College in order to raise awareness of apprenticeships and promote co-operative working across the education, business and learning community.

Leading employment, training and investment organisations from Chesterfield are involved in the initiative and sit on the Apprentice Town steering group, including Destination Chesterfield, Chesterfield College, NLT Training Services, University of Derby, East Midlands Chamber, Jobcentre Plus, Enterprise Adviser Network and Derbyshire County Council.

Emily Williams, Senior Economic Development Officer at Chesterfield Borough Council who is leading the Apprentice Town initiative, said: “Already, Chesterfield is a town where young people, parents and our businesses think ‘Apprenticeship First’. We want to grow individuals’ careers and futures alongside our businesses.

“All the students involved stepped up to the challenge and conducted themselves brilliantly. We had some superb entries and choosing a final winning design was not an easy task for the Apprentice Town steering group.”

For further details of Apprentice Town, please visit http://www.chesterfield.co.uk/about-chesterfield/working/apprenticeships/