Tees Valley careers expo draws over 5,000 students in "runaway success"

The 10th annual Tees Valley Careers Expo has been hailed a success after 5,201 students from 37 schools across the region logged on to take part in the live virtual event.

The expo took place entirely online for the second time this year, with resources still available on-demand, but that didn’t stop pupils of all ages from getting involved to learn about future career opportunities, options for post-16 and 18 education and the wealth of businesses across the Tees Valley.

For the first time, the event was open to primary schools, with 12 turning out alongside 25 secondary schools and colleges. Pupils engaged with more than 70 colleges, training providers and local and national businesses, including Darlington Economic Campus, Visualsoft, Nifco, Jacobs and EE alongside Teesside International Airport, and Teesworks.

The event included live Q&As, virtual tours and a series of workshops on topics including the future of jobs in the region, apprenticeships, green careers, business and enterprise and STEM and STEAM careers.

The showcase was hosted by Tees Valley Careers, a £3m initiative established by Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen to support the region’s 100,000 young people aged 11-18 to give them high-quality careers guidance and contact with more than 1,000 businesses across a range of sectors.

Mayor Houchen said: “This year’s Careers Expo was yet another runaway success, even bigger and better than last year, with thousands more young people of all ages learning about all of the fantastic opportunities right here on their doorstep.

“The event had a huge focus on how our next generation of workers don’t need to leave the area and go to a big city like Manchester or London for a rewarding, well-paid career.

“They can get one here thanks to our brilliant, growing local businesses, national and international firms investing in the industries of the future and the huge, transformative projects such as Teesworks and the Teesside Freeport that we’re helping to drive forward.”

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