Skills Show recognises young talent
The Skills Show will this year take place at The NEC Birmingham from 19-21 November, and is the nation’s largest free to attend skills and careers event.
The annual event provides a showcase for a broad range of vocational sectors to an audience of 75,000 young people, and gives employers the opportunity to inspire their future workforce about the possibilities which exist within the sector.
Businesses in the automotive sector can build long term financial security and protect future profits by recognising and nurturing the talented young people available to join their workforce, according to Find a Future, the organisers of The Skills Show.
‘Young people represent the future success of business,’ said Ross Maloney (pictured), Find a Future’s chief executive, ‘and have the energy and drive to ensure that the workforce of tomorrow continues to thrive. Our research has shown that they want the chance to talk directly to employers to identify the skills and qualifications that they will require to succeed in their chosen careers, yet many do not have the contacts they need to make these connections. The Skills Show gives businesses a unique opportunity to engage directly with these future employees, providing insight into the world of work and careers inspiration to motivate them.
‘By supporting The Skills Show either as sponsors or exhibitors, employers in the automotive sector have a great opportunity to take a step ahead of the competition and engage with highly capable, enthusiastic and creative young people who will help to drive future business success. These young people can help to safeguard longer term business growth and security, while having a positive impact on the bottom line, yet many businesses fail to engage with them directly, missing out on the opportunity to interact with, and recruit, future talent.’
At the three day event, young people are encouraged to try ‘bite sized’ hands-on experiential activities across a broad range of careers, to enable them to discover what they are good at and what they enjoy. This provides a great opportunity for businesses to dismiss any pre-conceptions which may exist about careers within their sector, showcase the inspirational skills of their current employees and interact directly with visitors to answer their questions and encourage their participation in the industry. In addition, a programme of more than 80 Spotlight talks also allows young people to hear directly from and be inspired by those working in their chosen professions, about their own real-life experiences. The event also provides the opportunity for visitors to watch the very best of the UK’s young skilled talent in action, as they take part in the finals of more than 60 WorldSkills UK skills competitions with the aim of being selected to represent TeamUK in international competition.
‘The WorldSkills UK competitions cycle shows just how talented today’s young people are, and businesses can only benefit from encouraging future entries by their own employees,’ continued Mr Maloney. ‘At Find a Future, we are fully committed to the development of a workforce that contains a well-balanced and diverse skills mix, which can only be achieved with the assistance of businesses from across the vocational sector. I would urge those in the automotive sector to take up the opportunity to become a supporter of the event in 2015, and put themselves ahead of the competition in recruiting the next generation of talent.’
Businesses interested in finding out more about the opportunities presented by involvement with The Skills Show should email [email protected] or call the sponsorship team on 020 3740 8206. Find out more about the organisation and its wider programme of engagement with young people by visiting www.findafuture.org.uk.
