Generation Dacorum careers fair welcomes over 1,100 students from Hemel Hempstead schools

More the 1,1000 students from schools across Hemel Hempstead went to the Generation Dacorum career fair at Shendish Manor Hotel on Wednesday (September 28).

The young people found out about local career and training opportunities during the sixth careers fair of its kind from Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The fair shined a spotlight on local job, apprenticeship and training opportunities, giving young people and their parents and carers a chance to discover employers, and learn about the roles on offer.

The event, opened by the Mayor of Dacorum, Cllr John Birnie, and Adrian Hawkins OBE, Chair of Hertfordshire LEP's Skills Advisory Panel, was led by LEP’s Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal (HOP) team.

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.”

Year 11 student from Hemel Hempstead School Sam 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.”

Exhibitors included 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 Heel Garden Communities.

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 careers with the opportunity to meet with local employers and open their eyes to the range of options available to them in Dacorum.”

HOP is a platform where employers and training providers are able to reach prospective workers in Dacorum and Hertfordshire.