"There are a number of significant growth and regeneration projects underway in the borough. Collectively, these projects provide an opportunity to put Chesterfield on a higher growth path."
Councillor Terry Gilby
Gogglebox personality Baasit Siddiqui is headlining a free event next month which will bring together Chesterfield and North Derbyshire’s business community and education sector ahead of the creation of thousands of jobs.
The Chesterfield & North Derbyshire Employability and Skills Conference aims to strengthen links between education providers and local businesses to ensure school leavers are ready to take up an estimated 10,000 job opportunities that are being delivered as a result of more than £1bn of development in the borough of Chesterfield.
Baasit Siddiqui, who appears on the hit Channel 4 show with his brother and father (The Siddiqui Family) is the keynote speaker at the conference, which is being held at Ringwood Hall Hotel & Spa, Brimington, from 8:00am - 10:30am on Wednesday 26 February.
A former teacher, who boasts 10 years of teaching experience, the TV personality is an expert on education and social mobility. He is the Managing Director of Siddiqui Education Ltd, a Derby-based company which uses his public profile and the positive reputation of the Siddiquis from Gogglebox to help motivate and inspire school children.
The conference is organised by Chesterfield Borough Council, The D2N2 North Derbyshire Careers Hub, and Destination Chesterfield.
At the conference, which returns for the fourth year, Mr Siddiqui will focus on how an education, which helps develop a range of transferable skills, can be used to support students as they progress through their educational and employability journey.
He will be joined by Rachel Quinn - Head of People and Skills at D2N2 LEP, Michael Timmins - Director of Water, Ports and Power North at AECOM and representatives from The Careers Enterprise Company and Cornerstone Business, as well as student council members at Whittington Green School.
The students at Whittington Green School are just some of more than14,000 students in North Derbyshire, who are set to gain their GCSE and A Level qualifications in the next five years.
Councillor Terry Gilby, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, explained why the conference is so important to Chesterfield and North Derbyshire. He said: “One of the Council’s priorities is to ensure that local people benefit from the economic growth that we are seeing in Chesterfield and support them into local jobs and good careers. There are a number of significant growth and regeneration projects underway in the borough. Collectively, these projects provide an opportunity to put Chesterfield on a higher growth path and will bring the opportunity for local people to access up to 10,000 new jobs.
The conference plays an important role in bringing together both business and education leaders to ensure communication lines are open and young people can benefit from employment and training opportunities now and in the future within the town.”
Daniel Heffernan of The D2N2 North Derbyshire Careers Hub added: “We’re delighted to be involved in the event which will showcase the fantastic collaboration that is already taking place in the area. Importantly it also brings together business and education leaders who are eager to understand how they can better support the regions young people. Ultimately this will help lead to improved employment opportunities, and subsequent economic growth”
Places at the conference are limited. To book your free place at the event, please visit: https://www.chesterfield.co.uk/events/chesterfield-north-derbyshire-employability-skills-conference/.
