I was invited to the NELC Skills Fair by event sponsor Phillips 66, where I sat on the judging panel of the Phillips 66 Decarbonisation Challenge. The six finalists were Havelock Academy, Oasis Wintringham, Beacon Academy, Healing School, Tollbar Academy and Clee Academy.
The challenge asked Year 10 children from schools in North East Lincolnshire to develop ideas for decarbonisation projects, and this final round challenged them to present their ideas without the use of technology, prompting the students to come up with creative ways to communicate their ideas in engaging ways.
After each presentation, the panel discussed with the groups about the challenges and opportunities their projects would present if they were able to be developed further. It also gave me the opportunity to talk to the students about how policies such as green technology are developed and brought to Parliament for new ideas and technologies to become part of the Government's policies. I explained that these are exactly the types of discussions that we have in Parliament, and how great it was that the students were coming up with such innovative ideas.
The wider Skills Fair was fantastic, with nearly 2000 students attending, all from Year 9 or Year 10 from every school in the borough. The pupils had the opportunity to talk to Further and Higher Education providers and businesses from North East Lincolnshire and the wider Lincolnshire area. I was very impressed to see the level of engagement and interest.
The fair showcased the huge amount of opportunities we have here in Great Grimsby, and how vital it is that we make sure our young people can grasp the opportunities that are right here on our doorstep.
Grimsby and the wider area are key to the Government’s plans for carbon neutrality and the green agenda, and our young people cannot miss out on the opportunity to benefit from this.
I would like to give my thanks to all involved in the running of this event, and to Phillips 66 for inviting me to be judge on their panel. I look forward to seeing this event run again next year and wish the attending students all the best in their next steps on their skills journeys.
Links:
Lincs2 job website: https://www.lincs2.co.uk/
GOV Apprenticeships finder: Find an apprenticeship (findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk)
