The Black Country Chamber of Commerce have identified that there are limited opportunities for young people in education to become involved in their local business community in a meaningful way. Young people have an important contribution to make, and it is important that there is an effective mechanism in place for ensuring their views are heard on areas such as careers development, the economic environment and Chamber activities as the employees, business people and consumer market of the future. The Black Country Chamber are fostering closer links between young people and their local business communities and Chamber of Commerce to try to support efforts to keep skilled and talented individuals in the local area.
The initiative is called Young Chamber and multiple activities will be put in place across the year to support this activity. With this in mind, the Young Chamber Committee has been set up and will meet three times a year to be consulted on areas such as economic and political issues, careers guidance, personal development and Chamber of Commerce activities.
The first Committee meeting took place on Thursday 25th January at Q3 Academy Great Barr. It was a highly successful meeting and included students from Highfields School, Q3 Academy Great Barr, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Academy and Windsor High School & Sixth Form Academy. The meeting was also Chaired by Grant Mace, an Undergraduate student at University of Wolverhampton. Grant commented: “As a student of the University of Wolverhampton as well as being an employee within the Careers and Enterprise department, I recognise the importance of developing employability and interpersonal skills through the development of students during their academic studies.
“When I was asked to Chair the Young Chamber Committee, I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to further the engagement between local business and the next generation of employees within the region. During the meeting, I was captivated to see such focus from the student ambassadors on what they felt is missing from careers guidance provision in schools and the methods of engagement to create relationships with local businesses to make work experience a more valuable and rewarding experience to cater for each individual student needs. I look forward to the next twelve months witnessing how the Young Chamber Committee develop and flourish through this exciting opportunity with the Black Country Chamber of Commerce.”
Following on from this, Q3 Academies Trust in partnership with Black Country Chamber of Commerce are organising a careers speed networking event to raise aspirations and employability skills by showcasing as many occupations as possible to students. The event will take place on the morning of Monday 27th March at Q3 Academy Great Barr.
Corin Crane, Chief Executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, added: “It is now time for businesses to support young people and inspire them to work in their particular industry. The Careers Speed Networking is a really interesting way of businesses engaging with young people, and provides a fun and informative way of finding out potential career options for the students. I urge local businesses to take part and shape the future workforce. I was delighted by the enthusiasm of the Young Chamber Committee and I am looking forward to future conversations and ideas.”
