Students brush up on career paths in north Norfolk at growing jobs event

Bethany Suggett from Leeds University with pupils from Paston Sixth Form College at the North East Norfolk Futures Event. Picture: John Nice (Image: Archant)

The North East Norfolk Futures Event, held at Paston Sixth Form College, returned for its fifth outing earlier this month, with industries from aviation to accountancy and hospitality to hair and beauty represented.

It is the third time the North Walsham college has held the event - which is jointly organised by the college, Beacon East and North Norfolk District Council - with about 40 universities and 60 employers attending.

Kevin Grieve, principal of the college, said: 'The idea is to get young people to think about their futures - whether that's apprenticeships, employment or universities.

'To get this amount of companies is quite a big achievement. It really opens up young people's minds to the many opportunities that there are in this part of Norfolk. It's a massive event that gets bigger every year.'

Mark Bruhin, chief executive of Beacon East, which jointly organised the North East Norfolk Futures Event. Picture: John Nice (Image: Archant)

Mark Bruhin, chief executive of Beacon East, an education business partnership body, added: 'Students are making big decisions on what to do next so we brought different sectors together to help people growing up in this part of the world make choices about their futures.'

Among the pupils attending was 15-year-old Megan Robson, who attends North Walsham High School.

She said: 'I wanted to get an idea of what colleges to attend or which apprenticeships to do in the future. I think we get lots of advice based around science and maths [at school] but we don't get many people coming in talking about sport or art. I got some advice on what career paths to go down.'

Fellow pupil Leah Harris, also 15, added: 'I wanted to get a better idea of what I can do after high school. I think it's hard for people our age to know what we are going to do. Events like this help.'

Schools from elsewhere around the district also attended, including Cromer Academy.

Teacher Hayley Clinnick said while pupils might have initially felt daunted, they quickly 'felt confident discussing their futures'.

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