HOP into Apprenticeships & T levels: The Hertfordshire Virtual Careers Fair

Hertfordshire Careers Hub held its second Virtual Careers Fair for parents and carers on Wednesday 24th January to help strengthen their understanding of apprenticeships and T-levels, and the opportunities they provide.

Amazing Apprenticeships hosted in partnership with HOP and the Beds & Herts Provider Network, this second event aimed to continue to empower parents and carers with the knowledge and confidence they need to help children make informed career decisions particularly around Apprenticeships and T Levels.

Over 600 parents and carers registered for this SOLD OUT event and the chance to meet with major local employers from across a range of sectors, including Computacenter, MBDA, Sky Studios Elstree, Warner Bros. Discovery, Roche, Morgan Sindall and many more.

Anna Morrison CBE, the Founder of Amazing Apprenticeships, who delivered the keynote address, said:

"It was fantastic to be able to connect hundreds of parents from across Hertfordshire with our employers and training providers at this event. The breadth of opportunity through apprenticeships and T Levels is really exciting and offers many different high-quality options for young people to consider.”

Apprenticeships and T-Levels form a key part of the LEP’s Skills and Employment Strategy for the county.

The 2023 survey of local parents and carers by Hertfordshire LEP and Amazing Apprenticeships had 3,225 parents/carers respond to the survey from over 50 schools, with 70% of respondents saying they would recommend an apprenticeship to their child, up 6% from 2022.

Steve Trotter, Hertfordshire LEP's Careers Hub Operations Lead, said:

"In Hertfordshire 89% of parents and carers do not feel confident in how to support their child to apply for an apprenticeship.

82% of parents and carers want to be kept informed about apprenticeships and other local opportunities including T Levels.

This online event enabled the parents and carers who attended to find out how they can best support their child into an apprenticeship or T level and it was a great way to link them in with local employers offering apprenticeships and the four colleges providing a growing variety of T Levels.”

Year 11 parent attending Apprenticeship and T level fair:

“This event opened my son's eyes to the opportunities that are out there, my son was truly encouraged and motivated. We spoke to two companies that involved the motor trade. They encouraged him to get work experience with Ford. He is now really interested in working in the motor trade.”

Parent of Year 12 student looking for an apprenticeship:

"It was great to hear from apprentices who had been through the process, understand the different programs and just how varied the courses are. Nice to be able to ask questions and to have such a variety of companies."

The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI):

"Thanks for putting together a great event, really enjoyed the format, made the time fly by. And not to worry, managed to get going as soon as people started appearing in the breakout room and it went smoothly throughout."

The Careers Fair was hosted on Zoom, which allowed attendees to interact with each other and with employers and providers in various breakout rooms.

The platform has enabled Hertfordshire Careers Hub to maximise the number of parents that were able to benefit from the event.

Please sign up to the HOP (Hertfordshire Opportunities Portal) newsletter for updates on future events.

To access employer presentation slides and the keynote speech from the event, and to learn more about apprenticeships and T-levels in Hertfordshire, please visit the event page on HOP.

About Hertfordshire Careers Hub

Hertfordshire Careers Hub is a Hertfordshire LEP programme launched in 2015, part-funded by The Careers & Enterprise Company. It works closely with local schools and colleges to help shape their careers programmes and strategy, and ensure students are well informed of their career options and equipped with vital employability skills.

The Careers Hub is underpinned by its 132-strong network of Enterprise Advisers – volunteers from local businesses, who are passionate about supporting young people’s career journeys, and are each paired with a school or college to provide 1-2-1 support. Enterprise Advisers are drawn from all sectors and business sizes, from the self-employed; SMEs such as Cariad Marketing, Herts Building Control and Cheshunt Football Club; and large corporations including Warner Bros., Tesco and BAM.

Enterprise Advisers engage with schools or colleges four times a year, dedicating an hour or so per meeting. If you are a business leader living or working in Hertfordshire and are interested in volunteering as an Enterprise Adviser, please contact Steve Trotter at [email protected].

For other ways to get involved, visit HOP’s Volunteer as an Enterprise Advisor Page