Organisers of one of the most successful careers events in Oxfordshire are encouraging young people – as well as their parents – to meet some of the county’s top employers, as they head towards ‘exam season’.

Staff from the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s Skills team (OxLEP) hope to persuade families from across the county to attend the ninth annual Careers Fest, to be held at MINI Plant Oxford early next month.

Careers Fest will be hosting an evening ‘twilight’ session for the first time, encouraging both teenagers – and their parents – to meet with over 60 employers and training providers.

Taking place on 6 February between 4pm and 7pm, top employers – including BMW Group (UK), the UK Atomic Energy Agency, Microsoft, Sophos, Nielsen and Thames Valley Police – will be at Careers Fest’s ‘twilight’ session, aiming to inspire Oxfordshire’s teenagers.

The event’s ‘twilight’ session coincides with two full-days of visits from students – aged between 14 and 18 – heading to Careers Fest on both 6 and 7 February.

Across the two days, a total of almost 2,000 students from 22 secondary schools from around Oxfordshire are expected to meet employers.

Nigel Tipple – Chief Executive of OxLEP – said: “Careers Fest has an excellent record of inspiring young people and helping them to understand the opportunities they have available to them.

“Whether it is understanding training programmes – such as apprenticeships – finding out about work experience opportunities, or discovering what a potential career pathway may look like, we would encourage the county’s teenagers and their parents to head to Careers Fest and see what our top employers and training providers can offer.”
 
Simon Farrall – Head of Apprentice and Associate Training for BMW Group UK – said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be hosting Careers Fest once again at MINI Plant Oxford.

“It’s a fantastic forum for young people across Oxfordshire to find out about the range of careers that are available to them.

“For us it’s a great chance to talk about our own apprenticeship scheme and to demonstrate the opportunities that exist in the UK automotive industry.”

To sign-up to Careers Fest, head to Eventbrite. For more information, call the OxLEP Skills team on 0345 241 1196.