Gloucestershire Skillsfest sees hundreds of jobseekers and apprentices gain valuable insights and opportunities from local businesses

Gloucestershire saw the county’s largest recruitment event welcome almost 1000 students from 20 secondary schools from across the county on Friday, followed by an outstanding 500 jobseekers and apprentices on Saturday.

All attendees had the same goal in mind - to find out more about what career, apprenticeship and training vacancy opportunities there are in Gloucestershire. The event linked the needs of local business to the education and skills of the next generation of employees in Gloucestershire.

There were a number of employment sectors represented throughout the Skillsfest event, including the NHS who brought along their hospital equipment and resuscitation dummies for those interested in a career in healthcare, Versarien encouraged individuals to think about a career in engineering with their race car simulator machine and Isaac Partnership were there motivating attendees to consider a career in the creative sector with their html and code building challenge. The event saw some GFirst LEP Ambassadors volunteer their time to talk to, answer questions and inspire attendees about future careers; also the GFutures careers advisor team were on hand for 121 sessions to help guide individuals towards their future career.  

A local jobseeker that attended the Gloucestershire Skillsfest event on Saturday 12^th March, said: “There was a really exciting feel at the Skillsfest event, it really helped me open my eyes to what I want to do with my future, and I came away with a better understanding of what opportunities there are available to me locally.”

Exhibitors at the Skillsfest event commented: “There was a really positive and vibrant atmosphere amongst attendees with a great interest in careers and skills at the event; we were able to speak to a great number of potential candidates about our current vacancies, as well as gathering some applications on the day!”

David Owen, Chief executive of GFirst LEP, said: “GFirst LEP is championing skills development and helping close the skills gap in the county. Working closely with GFutures and Yes2Jobs enabled us to inspire so many potential jobseekers into their future career, making the Gloucestershire Skillsfest event such a success.”