NEWS local32 Thursday, October 22, 2015

5,000 students get to see how

Around 5,000 children learnt more about where they could be working or studying in the future at the biggest careers show in Suffolk.

A total of 15 industries and sectors, from energy and enterprise to legal services, were represented at the Suffolk Skills Show, aimed at 14-24-year-olds, held in Trinity Park, Ipswich, yesterday.

Ian Twinley, chairman of the group behind the show and chief executive of John Grose, one of the event’s sponsors, said: “It’s heart-warming to see so many young people engage with so many Suffolk businesses, we really must thank all the businesses that are here today because without them the event would not happen.

“One of the focuses this year has been on businesses showing what they do in ‘have-a-go’ demonstra-tions. It was great for students to get a feel of the work they do – we had about 80 businesses involved in that alone.”

Lisa Chambers, cabinet member for education and skills at Suffolk County Council, the show’s lead part-ner, said it was “wonderful” to see students engage with some of Suffolk’s biggest brands and companies.

She addressed guests, including local college principals, council bosses and representatives from economic groups.

“Having had a chance to walk round the show seeing the fantastic employers that we have here in Suffolk, I saw the amazing opportu-nity offered to younger people look-ing for work experience or education options,” she said.

She added the event “inspired” youngsters as they moved into the world of work.

Nicci Dunning, a business devel-oper for Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, was part of the cham-ber’s networking team – helping chil-dren to talk with each other and be

more confident when speaking about themselves.

She is worried that children grow-ing up in the ‘tablet generation’ are losing the social and spoken commu-nication skills necessary for work because of the time spent on comput-ers and mobile phones.

“We have speed networking – a way of engaging with them so they can talk about themselves,” she said. “Some have been really responsive and we have spoken to school kids who do not know what they are doing. I told them about myself and my background and how I got into this.”

There were more than 130 exhibi-tors at the event, including Woodbridge-based film-makers Summer Isle Film,

Tom Newman, director and founder of the company, said his industry was reliant on new, skilled people.

“Productions are made with talent and it has to come from somewhere which we have to push,” he said. “The film industry in Suffolk is not great but it has got the potential to be. There are some great businesses here and it’s important that they grow.”

David Flatt, from Worlingworth-based agricultural machinery company P Tuckwell Ltd, said many students were interested in the sector which had seen a technical transfor-mation in recent years.

It’s heart-warming to see so many young people engage with so many Suffolk businesses, we really must thank all the businesses that are here today because without them the event would not happen

Ian Twinley, chief executive of John Grose

Matt Hunter

matt.hunter@archant.co.ukEducation correspondent

� Students got to try their hands at an array of skills from construction to dog grooming at the Suffolk Skills Show. Photos: LUCY TAYLOR