Julia Lopez MP celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2023 with an Apprenticeship & Skills Fair today in Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch to give local people of all ages the chance to find new work opportunities. The Hornchurch & Upminster MP has worked closely with the Romford Jobcentre over several years to match employers to school leavers and jobseekers across Havering, helping to fill skills gaps.
The event was attended by several local schools, who listened to presentations by young people already in paid apprenticeships. The Jobcentre's Armed Forces and Disability Champions were also available to provide extra support and advice to veterans and those who might have additional needs in the workplace.
Following the success of Mrs Lopez's Jobs Fair in August, through which over 60 residents obtained a job or training opportunity, today’s event had a focus on apprenticeships with twenty employers present.
As Creative Industries Minister, Mrs Lopez is also particularly keen to make sure local people fill the exciting new jobs at the new film studios being built in Dagenham. Local business woman, Danielle Everitt, joined the event to offer apprenticeships at her Romford make up academy, Final Checks, which is already working with the studios.
Speaking about the event, Mrs Lopez said, ‘Today's Fair was an incredibly uplifting event. My team and I love being able to match local people with all the great opportunities that we know are out there. Conversations people have at events like these can lead them on entirely new and exciting paths in life. The Jobcentre team are so passionate about what they do and always inspire me with how they use work to transform lives and give people of every age confidence.
We are immensely grateful to them and to Queen's Theatre for helping us organise the event. We had a particular focus on those employers providing apprenticeships and we engaged with local schools to help students looking to start careers in the sectors represented. I was glad to see students from Sacred Heart and Hall Mead Schools in attendance and I’m delighted to say that several of them have already been offered work experience by TfL and the STC Group. But apprenticeships are not just for school leavers and can be a great way to retrain when in work or to get back into employment after time out raising children'
The Job Centre Plus team will track the progress of those attendees, reporting back on who has secured interviews or training placements. The full range of attending employers and the roles they were recruiting for can be viewed below:
- NHS – NHS Apprenticeships
- Stansted Academy – Stansted apprenticeships & Academy
- Metropolitan Police - Constables degree apprenticeships
- MTR Elizabeth Line – Multiple Roles Including: Procurement Apprentice, Customer Experience Apprentice, People and Culture Apprentice, Concession Apprentice, Train Service Delivery Apprentice
- Falltricks Academy – Multiple Roles Including: Aged 6-18 Traineeships (8-20 wks), Aged 19-24 Occupational Traineeships (12-20 wks), Apprenticeships All ages (most employers seeking aged 16-21)
- Breyer Group – Construction Trades
- STC - Apprenticeships
- Care Providers Voice - Care Sector jobs/apprenticeships
- V&A Museum - Creative sector
- Skills Provider - Skills bootcamp – Care sector
- Guardforce Security – Security
- AstraZeneca – Multiple Roles in several fields including: 9 x Laboratory Scientist Apprenticeships, Drug Discovery, Chemistry, Bioscience, QC Analytical Chemistry, Biologics Engineering, Bioscience in-vivo, Digital Development, Biopharmaceutical Development, Bio-analysis
- Wates – Apprenticeships
- Final Checks - Level 2 Beauty Professional
