Northampton College to tackle youth unemployment with local employers

On Friday 26th October, 120 students from Northampton College will let their creative juices flow at a fun one-day enterprise event delivered by Working Knowledge, a social enterprise dedicated to bridging the gap between education and the workplace.

The 17 and 18 year old students will get the opportunity to develop new business ideas with the support and advice of volunteers from a range of locally-based employers including Barclaycard, Intel, Cavendish Hepburn and Bidwells Property Consultants.

Students at Northampton College from a range of AS and A Level courses will work in teams to create innovative new products or services, develop their business plan and present it to a panel of volunteer business experts (or Dragons!) for a chance to win cash prizes or be spotted as an ‘outstanding individual’ in the eyes of the local employers.

Since the start of term, over 3,000 students from nine Further Education Colleges have been introduced to 350 local employers, facilitated by Working Knowledge.

Employers have offered work experience, apprenticeships or paid work as a result of meeting young people at Working Knowledge events and 60% of all volunteer business experts confirm that the event positively changed their attitude about the value of young people to business.

Simon Stewart, Head of Enterprise at Northampton College said ‘We are very excited about the prospect of meeting a range of local employers and opening their eyes to the talent of our young people, whilst helping them to develop vital employability skills such as teamwork and communication.’

All students attending the event will receive a NCFE Level 1 Award in Employability Skills.