First jobs and futures fair in Telford to help young people enter employment goes down a hit

The first-ever jobs and futures fair in Telford to help residents explore employment options has been hailed as a success by the town’s MP.

Shaun Davies MP hosted the fair at The Anstice in Madeley on Friday (November 6).

He welcomed hundreds of residents, particularly young people, to meet with employers face-to-face and explore opportunities like apprenticeships and other current vacancies in the area.

Mr Davies’s event was organised in cooperation with Telford College and supported by the government’s Pride In Place fund, which is backed by the Department for Work and Pensions.

It comes after Alan Milburn published his interim report on young people and work in June, which said 84 per cent of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) want a job or training but are not receiving the support they need.

Around 200 job opportunities and 30 employers were at the fair.

Businesses and operations in attendance were Bridge Cheese, RBSL, Aviramp, Craemer, Kuehne + Nagel, Coforge and the National Trust.

Talking about the fair, Mr Davies said: “I am absolutely delighted with the response to Telford's first Jobs and Futures Fair, with hundreds of people coming along to explore the opportunities available to them.

“It was fantastic to see so many local residents speaking directly with employers, finding out about vacancies, learning about training opportunities and getting advice on their next steps.

“We wanted to make sure that everyone had the opportunity to attend, which is why we arranged free transport to help people get there.

“I am also incredibly grateful to Coforge for generously donating an iPad for our registration prize draw, helping us encourage even more people to come along and get involved.”

The event formed part of Mr Davies’s commitment to supporting local employment, championing opportunities for young people and ensuring residents can access the skills, advice and training they need to succeed.

The MP went on to say: “I want to thank every employer, business, training provider and organisation that gave up their time to attend and make the event such a success.

“Their involvement demonstrates the importance of working together to support our local community.

“Getting into work isn't always straightforward, particularly for young people trying to secure that all-important first opportunity.

“Alan Milburn's interim report highlights the scale of the challenge facing the country, but we must also make sure we are doing everything we can locally.

Sarah Davies, from Telford College said: “It's great to see the amount of employers we've had here, and also people from all ages coming to find out what opportunities there are available locally.”