More than 50 organisations from across the county are supporting a new Cumbria Careers Day, which will be held as part of National Careers Week.
Organised by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, the one-day event will take place at different venues including schools, colleges and businesses on Wednesday 6th March.
Cumbria LEP chief executive Jo Lappin said: “We know that there are currently over 7,000 vacant jobs in the county with employers across many sectors reporting acute labour supply shortages and high numbers of unfilled vacancies.
“Many of our businesses tell us that attracting and retaining people is one of the most significant challenges that they face. This is across businesses of every size, and in every sector. Therefore, developing, growing and retaining talent is essential to our economy and businesses.
“There are fabulous careers available in Cumbria and it is really important that everybody understands the breadth of opportunities that are available here.”
Cumbria LEP careers hub manager Cath Dutton said: “As part of a wide range of actions that we are taking, we are asking local employers and training providers to pledge their support and come together on one day to celebrate all of the great careers and jobs on offer in the county to people of all ages.
“We already have excellent support and this is now the opportunity to take it to the next level.
“Businesses can join our ‘did you know?’ social media campaign and post interesting facts about their workplace or share videos and case studies of what goes on in their organisation, as well as provide details of the jobs that people do and how they got there.
“Employers can also visit their local school to answer questions about their business and job opportunities.”
Jayne Moorby from the Oxley Group, and chair of the careers hub Cornerstone Employer Group said: “I hope other businesses join us on Wednesday 6th March to highlight the opportunities in their organisation.
“We will be joining the social media campaign, sharing employee case studies and offering to give a careers’ talk at a local school. Together we can encourage young people to choose a motivating next step in Cumbria.”
Jo Lappin added: “These real-world insights can be really inspiring and help motivate our people of all ages to explore the opportunities available to them.
“They demonstrate the incredible variety of jobs that are available in Cumbria’s economy. Cumbria Careers Day is for both those starting out in their career and those looking to return to the labour market.
“We hope that it will really showcase the jobs and careers that are on offer. We also hope that this first Cumbria Careers Day will grow to become an annual event.”
To help schools, colleges and businesses of all sizes to get involved Cumbria LEP has produced a range of resources on the careers hub website here.
