Over 50 organisations from across the county are backing a new Cumbria Careers Day, which will be held as part of National Careers Week (4-9 March). The event on Wednesday 6 March is designed to promote the excellent careers that are available across the county and to encourage people to develop and build their careers here.

With less than one month to go, the lead organiser Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP) is hoping to encourage more education providers and employers, of all sizes and in every sector to get involved.

Jo Lappin, Chief Executive of the Cumbria LEP, explained:

“We know that there are currently over 7,000 vacant jobs in the county with employers across many sectors reporting acute labour supply shortages and high numbers of unfilled vacancies. Many of our businesses tell us that attracting and retaining people is one of the most significant challenges that they face. This is across businesses of every size, and in every sector. Therefore, developing, growing and retaining talent is essential to our economy and businesses. There are fabulous careers available in Cumbria and it is really important that everybody understands the breadth of opportunities that are available here.”

Cath Dutton, Cumbria LEP’s Careers Hub Manager, who is leading the work added: “As part of a wide range of actions that we are taking, we are asking local employers and training providers to pledge their support and come together on one day to celebrate all of the great careers and jobs on offer in the county to people of all ages. We already have excellent support and this is now the opportunity to take it to the next level.”

Cath added: “Businesses can join our ‘did you know?’ social media campaign and post interesting facts about their workplace. Or share videos and case studies of what goes on in their organisation, as well as provide details of the jobs that people do and how they got there. Employers can also visit their local school to answer questions about their business and job opportunities.”

Jayne Moorby the Oxley Group, and Chair of the Careers Hub Cornerstone Employer Group said:

“I hope other businesses join us on Wednesday 6 March to highlight the opportunities in their organisation. We will be joining the social media campaign, sharing employee case studies and offering to give a careers’ talk at a local school. Together we can encourage young people to choose a motivating next step in Cumbria.”

Jo Lappin added:

“These real-world insights can be really inspiring and help motivate our people of all ages to explore the opportunities available to them. They demonstrate the incredible variety of jobs that are available in Cumbria’s economy. #CumbriaCareersDay is for both those starting out on their career and those looking to return to the labour market. We hope that it will really showcase the jobs and careers that are on offer. We also hope that this first Cumbria Careers Day will grow to become an annual event.”

To help schools, colleges and businesses of all sizes to get involved Cumbria LEP has produced a range of resources. These and full details of all the organisations pledging to be involved can be found on Cumbria LEP’s Careers Hub website https://www.careershubcumbria.co.uk/