The Careers Fest Twilight Session offers students in Years 9 and above – and their families – the opportunity to connect with some of Oxfordshire’s best employers, highlighting significant career pathways available in the county, whilst a ‘Careers Live’-hosted webinar is set to cover apprenticeships in more detail.
Following on from the success of last year’s annual Careers Fest, upon which over 3,000 young people congregated at Oxford’s Kassam Stadium, OxLEP Skills’ Oxfordshire Careers Hub – supported by The Careers & Enterprise Company – are preparing to hold this year’s event and enable the county’s young people and their families to understand the careers opportunities that lie right here in Oxfordshire.
Taking place across the 19th and 20th of March, Careers Fest is set to welcome a vast array of Oxfordshire schools and colleges during the day, including secondary schools, further education colleges and special schools due to the partnerships in-place via OxLEP – and invites parents and carers to an evening ‘Twilight’ Session from 4pm-7pm on the 19th, to aid families with the knowledge to support their young people with their career and further education decisions.
The session is aimed at all families, but with a specific focus on those supporting students in Year 9 and above – offering guidance and sharing knowledge on post-16 and post-18 education, training and careers options.
With exhibitors from across a huge array of key sectors in Oxfordshire, the full list of organisations attending on the day is set to be announced shortly. A number of organisations are supporting the event as headline sponsors - including Grundon Waste Management, Howden Insurance, Laing O' Rourke, Lucy Group, Morgan Sindall Construction, Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Velocity Football – contributing to the travel costs for schools to help ensure as many students as possible can attend.
Showcasing the breadth of careers opportunity that lies on their doorstep, students are set to benefit from over 80 organisations attending Careers Fest 2025 – with aims to not only support the county’s pipeline of talent, but to retain it right here in Oxfordshire.
With this in mind, Oxfordshire Careers Hub is also offering these young people and their families the opportunity to find out more about the apprenticeship opportunities which lie out there, with an Apprenticeship Webinar for Parents and Carers set to take place during National Apprenticeship Week in February.
Running in partnership with Careers Live, the webinar is set to cover everything those supporting Oxfordshire’s young people need to know about finding and applying for apprenticeships, what these opportunities entail – and to hear from some of the county’s key apprentice employers, including Airbus, Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire County Council and Williams Racing.
Nigel Tipple – Chief Executive of OxLEP – said: “OxLEP Skills have run Careers Fest for many years now, and every year I am truly blown away by the commitment of the county’s employers in supporting skills provision and education for Oxfordshire’s young people.
“We are truly blessed in Oxfordshire to have such a breadth of key industries and opportunities – from the wealth of transformative technologies in the county, within which Oxfordshire has world-class potential – to being home to two outstanding world-renowned universities – to the vast array of training opportunities in vital industries such as hospitality and tourism.
“OxLEP Skills are here to help local people and businesses in Oxfordshire achieve their full potential through the provision of skills, careers and enterprise opportunities and we are proud to continue delivering such vital skills opportunities – working with schools and families to ensure young people have the information to make decisions about their future.
“We would strongly encourage families to sign up to attend Careers Fest and the Apprenticeships Webinar, in order to understand the opportunities that are right here in Oxfordshire.”
Sign up to the Apprenticeship Webinar for Parents and Carers on Tuesday 11th February
Find out more and sign up to attend the Careers Fest Twilight Session
