More than 1,100 students from schools across Hemel Hempstead attended Generation Dacorum on Wednesday 28 September to find out about local career and training opportunities, in the biggest Generation event yet. Generation Dacorum is the sixth careers fair of its kind from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) showcasing the wealth of opportunities available to young people within the county.

Billed as ‘a brilliant example’ of how places can create opportunities for young people by two former Apprenticeships Ministers, the Generation events have gone from strength to strength since the first Generation Stevenage event in 2020. 

The careers fair shines a spotlight on local job, apprenticeship and training opportunities, giving young people and their parents/carers a chance to discover local employers, learn about the roles and entry routes on offer and the skills desired from potential candidates. They provide a valuable opportunity for employers to strengthen their relationship with local schools and colleges and develop their future talent pipeline.

Crucially, they also help raise awareness of Hertfordshire LEP’s flagship skills and careers portal HOP (Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal), which enables young people, carers, parents and teachers to access all the resources they need to make informed career decisions and for employers to connect with education.

Held at Shendish Manor Hotel, Generation Dacorum was led by Hertfordshire LEP’s HOP team in partnership with Ruth George HR Consulting and Connect Dacorum, and part-funded by The Careers & Enterprise Company. The event was opened by the Mayor of Dacorum, Cllr John Birnie, and Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair of Hertfordshire LEP’s Skills Advisory Panel.

Adrian said: “It was fantastic to open the hearts and minds of over a thousand young people today to the opportunities on their doorstep and to welcome such high-calibre employers from all corners of the county, the message is clear. Students, parents and teachers are voting with their feet to find out more about apprenticeships, training and local career paths and the LEP plays a key role in supporting them. The Generation careers fairs play a vital role in raising young people’s aspirations and ensuring they are best placed to seize the opportunities on their doorstep, and our skills portal HOP, which has led the event today, helps them do just that.”

HOP (www.hopinto.co.uk) is a unique platform through which employers and training providers can reach Hertfordshire talent. It enables residents to search and apply for local jobs, apprenticeships and training programmes and gives educators and young people access to a vast bank of free careers resources, including sector-focused webinars featuring local businesses.

HOP spotlight employer Morgan Sindall Construction was one of 37 exhibitors in attendance at Generation Dacorum. The company’s Social Value Manager, Norma Odain-Hines, said: “It is really important that we, as local employers, can provide careers aspiration for local students and ensure that they are fully aware of the opportunities that exist for them. Generation Dacorum has allowed us to engage with our future workforce.”

Exhibitors spanned a diverse range of industries including construction giant BAM Construct, consultancy Aecom, logistics service provider Martin Brower, hospitality business Oakman Inns, film and TV production company Sky Studios Elstree, technology firms Imagination Technologies and Computacenter, optician Specsavers, and Hemel Garden Communities.

Sam, a Year 11 student from Hemel Hempstead School, said: “I have been able to find out about some of the local companies and have been really fascinated to learn about the range of options available to me. It was great to find out about the apprenticeships that are available.”

Generation Dacorum supports Hertfordshire LEP’s delivery of the national Careers & Enterprise Company programme by enabling local schools and colleges to offer students the chance to interact directly with employers – a key component of the Gatsby Benchmarks, which define the gold standard for careers education provision.

Representing one of the 13 schools in attendance, Gita Patel, Careers Leader from Longdean School, said: “Attending Generation Dacorum is a significant aspect of our careers education programme. We have brought our whole Year 11 group. Our school has a real mix of students from different backgrounds but attending today enables us to provide those students most in need of support and inspiration about their future career with the opportunity to meet with local employers and open their eyes to the range of options available to them in Dacorum.”

Gareth Dace, Careers Hub Lead at Hertfordshire LEP, said: “Generation Dacorum attracted our largest audience yet and it is testament to the hard work put in by our team and partners Ruth George (Ruth George HR Consulting) and Cindy Withey (Connect Dacorum), who have both volunteered their time to ensure the event was a success. Generation events are going from strength to strength and we encourage schools and employers across the county to get involved to support our young people into careers they love.”

Upcoming events

The next Generation careers fair will take place in Hertsmere on 16 November, and Welwyn Hatfield in February 2023. The first Next Generation Hertfordshire event will take place on 26 January 2023 aimed at careers leaders, personal advisers and careers link governors. Find out more about these upcoming events and access a huge range of careers information on HOP – www.hopinto.co.uk.