Around 250 primary school children are to get an insight in to work life at a special event at Liverpool Town Hall on Wednesday 29 January.
A total of 30 local employers will be at the Changing Horizons
event, organised by volunteers from Civil Service Local and Liverpool City
Council, which is designed to encourage pupils to think about the type of
skills they will need when looking for work in their chosen career.
Among those attending are Civil Service departments, the NHS, emergency services, Merseyrail, Armed Forces and other Merseyside employers.
Each child will get the chance to take part in seven fun
activities that will help them to develop skills and experiences that will be
useful in their search for future employment.
The employers are from industries ranging from construction and
manufacturing through to finance, health, retail, hospitality and the digital
sector.
Young people, employers and teachers will also be able to make connections through an ‘Opportunity Wall’ where offers for young people will be posted to support their career ambitions and future skills development.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet member for education, employment
and skills, Cllr Barbara Murray, said: “Today’s young people are
tomorrow’s employees and it is vital our young people have the right skills to
go in to their chosen careers and start thinking about them before they leave
primary school.
“Paper qualifications are important but employers are also looking
for specific skills such as problem solving and the ability to work as part of
a team.
“If Liverpool is to grow its economy and be successful we need to
make sure that the young people leaving school have the talents to take
advantage of job vacancies.
“My thanks to the Civil Service for organising the event in
partnership with our staff.”
It is the first Changing Horizons event in the country aimed
specifically at primary pupils, and follows on from successful secondary school
events in the north west, including one held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool
last May.
The event has been supported by employer-led sessions in schools,
co-ordinated by the Civil Service, designed to prepare students for the day and
to evaluate its impact afterwards.
Evidence shows that a young person who has four or more encounters with an employer before leaving school is far less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training when they leave school and earns more during their career.
