Around 75 people attended the Greater Lincolnshire Careers Hub’s end-of-year meeting at the Lincolnshire Showground, held in partnership with the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology.

The event, on 13th July was open to all Greater Lincolnshire careers leaders, education providers and employers who are involved in the Careers Hub network, which is delivered by the Greater Lincolnshire LEP with support from local partners including Lincolnshire County Council, North Lincolnshire Council, North East Lincolnshire Council and Rutland County Council.

Those who attended got to hear from Lee Douglas, Strategic Careers Hub Lead at the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, about the positive progress made with Greater Lincolnshire schools and colleges over the past year. He also touched on what is coming up over the next year, including the recently announced Teacher Encounters programme.

Other guest speakers included Dan Lewin from Enthuse Partnership, Steven Watterson from Association of Colleges, Andy Brown from The Engineering Training Industry Construction Board and Shaun Povey from Siemens Energy.

Meanwhile 17 schools took part in a STEM challenge created by the Lincolnshire Institute of Technology in partnership with the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, with the goal to raise the profile of STEM careers among schoolchildren.

The Dustbin Windmill Challenge challenged students to find out how much power they could generate from a wind turbine made from recycled rubbish. Working in teams, the students designed, developed, built and tested a small wind powered turbine with support from industry experts, STEM ambassadors and teachers.

Lee Douglas said: “This event was a great way to celebrate everything that was achieved this year by everyone involved with the Careers Hub.

“Hearing from some passionate guest speakers about insights into future skills requirements and future opportunities for schools was a highlight, as was seeing how engaged the students were with the STEM challenge!”

The event concluded with a celebration of careers champions across Greater Lincolnshire. There were 22 nominations for the awards representing a mixture of employers and schools and colleges.

The careers champions celebration gave the Careers Hub the opportunity to shine a spotlight on individuals, organisations, providers and schools/colleges/special schools/APs who have made a positive, notable impact in careers education.

The Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland Cornerstone Employer Group, which is a community of 14 business from around the county dedicated to supporting and championing careers education, selected five outstanding individuals from the nominations:

  • Laura Brown – Somercotes Academy
  • Libby Barber – South Lincolnshire Academies Trust
  • Ryan Oates – St Lawrence Academy
  • Bill Baird-Parker – Lincolnshire County Council
  • Damian Froggatt – Lincoln City Football Club (Greater Lincolnshire winner)

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