In two weeks time, on Thursday 10th November, I’ll be hosting my fourth annual jobs fair at the Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone. The event will start at 10am and run until 3pm. I am grateful as well for the support the jobs fair has received from Shepway District Council, and local employers including Border Force, CareTech, Saga and Sleeping Giant Media. There will also be representatives from Folkestone Jobcentre Plus on hand throughout the day. You can find out more about the jobs fair, including how to register, at the website www.folkestonejobsfair.co.uk
Once again, the jobs fair will have a special focus on apprenticeships, but there will still be plenty of information about jobs for people of all different levels of experience. As has been the case in previous years there will be local firms at the jobs fair with vacancies to fill. For young people in their final couple of years at school the jobs fair is also a great way to find out more about the local job opportunities that are available, and to discover which businesses offer apprenticeships. The government’s website also provides a lot of excellent advice about apprenticeships, both for those looking to apply and businesses looking to take people on. You can find this online at www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships
The government has committed to fund three million apprenticeship places by 2020, as part of a massive expansion of skills based training in this country. In addition to the government run programmes, Shepway District Council has its own scheme which has helped more than 240 young people into apprenticeships over the last three years. Local businesses can also receive a grant from the council of up to £1,500 towards the costs of employing a local person as an apprentice.
Congratulations are due to local chocolate maker and café, Hendricks of Hythe, which has recently won the award for best customer service at the prestigious Kent Food and Drink awards 2016. This stands alongside the more informal recognition by the BBC for Sleeping Giant Media in Folkestone, which was listed earlier this month alongside Google and Apple, as having one of the ‘trendiest offices’ in England.
I am also pleased to report that I was elected last week as the Chair of the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport. As our area has such a rich cultural history, vibrant arts scene, great sports and a growing cluster of creative and digital businesses, I hope I can use the position to highlight so much of the excellent work locally. The committee also has responsibility for the scrutiny of major media organisations like the BBC and Ofcom, oversight of press regulation, and has recently concluded major inquiries on what needs to be done to complete the roll out of superfast broadband, governance reform in sport, and will shortly publish a report on the support for culture and the arts in the UK, outside of London.