Worcestershire has been selected as part of a new wave of Careers Hubs launched across the UK.

The Careers and Enterprise Company announced on Tuesday 23 June that Worcestershire has been chosen in the new wave 3 Careers hubs.

Currently the county secured a Wave 1 Careers Hub working with secondary schools including Special Educational Needs Schools and Further Education colleges connecting them with Worcestershire businesses. The new wave 3 hub will further support this initial hub with a focus on middle schools in the county and supporting to develop their careers education.

Worcestershire is also the only new hub of its kind in the UK to be delivering to all pupils from years 7 to 13 regardless of their education choice. This now means that the county has complete geographical coverage with all eligible education establishments part of the careers hub network.

Careers Hubs work with local education establishments and the business community to help provide young people in the area with more access to careers guidance, local labour market information and support during their educational journey.

This step forward for Worcestershire ensures that Worcestershire’s businesses and industries are highlighted in education establishments at an early age and allows young people to choose their education choices in line with the careers.

Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “I am delighted to see Worcestershire selected to have a new wave 3 careers hub. Having total eligible coverage of schools is a tremendous achievement and now means that we can improve careers provision for young people across the county.

“I am sure this news will be welcomed by the business community and we now need the support of more local organisations to further strengthen our careers hubs and take our careers guidance to the next level.”

Luke Payton, Head Teacher at St Bedes Middle School, said: “At St Bede’s, we are really excited to be involved with the new Middle School Hub in Worcestershire. The support that we have received in the past 2 years from our Careers and Enterprise Co-ordinator and our Enterprise Advisor, as a school, has been fantastic and this has helped to ensure that our careers provision has been developed and strengthened.

“We cannot wait to work with the new hub that has a specific focus on the middle school setting. Sometimes, we can get forgot as we are different to the normal phases of education, but this new hub will help to ensure that we have bespoke support and guidance as a middle school. This will only further help to strengthen our position as middle schools across Worcestershire and across the country.

“We are looking forward to collaborating with this unique hub and with other colleagues in middle schools as this project moves forward.”

The Worcestershire Careers Hub has seen previous success being chosen as part of the initial first wave of Careers Hubs in 2018 and later went on to come second for Careers Hub of the year being ‘Highly Commended’ at the 2019 Careers & Enterprise Company Careers Excellence Awards.

The success of this programme is working in partnership to ensure young people are ready for the world of work and to support local employers to access new employees with the skills they need.

To get involved and promote your industry to Worcestershire’s young people, supporting the drive to create your future workforce and for more information on the role of Worcestershire Careers Hubs, contact the team by emailing [email protected]