Give your career a real kick-start

I hope that all their hard work is rewarded when they get their results and take the next steps in their education or onto employment.

I know from when I visit schools that some young people are clear on their career path, but many others are unsure.

If you’re one of those people then help is available and a good place to start is the East of England Careers Show, organised by The Skills Service, which takes place at the East of England Showground on Friday, 15 July.

Everyone you could possibly need to talk about education or careers will be there including the companies offering jobs or apprenticeships, the colleges or universities providing offering the qualifications you need to obtain those jobs, or HR professionals who can critique your CV so that you stand a good chance of standing out from the crowd.

Exhibitors will be grouped into experience zones which include food and drink, technology, wellbeing, creative and business. All the information will be interactive and engaging – you’ll even get to see one of Force India’s 2015 Formula One cars!

Our own local colleges will be at the event too, including Peterborough Regional College, City College Peterborough and University Centre Peterborough. Also there will be the Greater Peterborough University Technical College which opens this September. This new college will offer real-life work experience, plus both academic and technical qualifications in one of two specialisms - engineering and the built environment.

If you’re ready to enter the world of work or study for an apprenticeship, then a good place to start is the website for young people managed by The Skills Service www.standoutskills.co.uk. You can find out about the many opportunities available, as well as volunteering roles and post-16 study options.

Providing opportunities for our young people is crucial if we are to encourage them to remain in our city. This is why we are working with local businesses to build a picture of the skills they need their employees to have which we can then share with our schools, 
colleges and young people. Our young people can then gain qualifications or train for a job which they can apply for locally, if indeed that’s what they want to 
do.

Crucial to this is having a fully-fledged university, which is why I was delighted this week to learn that the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough LEP has agreed to fund a team to progress our plans for a university and to support University Centre Peterborough obtain degree awarding powers.

Currently many of our young people have to leave Peterborough to achieve their chosen degree which is a great shame. We want them to have the option to keep learning here and for students outside of the area to study and settle in the city.

For more information about the East of England Careers Show visit www.careersshow.co.uk

I’d like to wish Her Majesty The Queen a very happy 90th birthday for this Saturday. I met Her Majesty in 1989 on a visit to Peterborough when I was Deputy Mayor and I found her to be a lovely woman. Her service to this county is highly commendable.

If you’re hosting an event this weekend then I hope it goes with a bang. On Saturday Peterborough Opera will bring a touch of rousing musical nostalgia to Cathedral Square to mark the occasion, performing scenes from Edward German’s Merrie England comic opera from 11am.

This will be followed on Sunday by a special Royal-themed service of choral evensong at Peterborough Cathedral between 3.30pm and 4.30pm.

I’d like to congratulate everyone who took part in the Tour of Cambridgeshire event at the weekend. I had the pleasure of starting the race and it was fantastic to see the thousands of cyclists lined up at the start line ready for the 80 mile race. The organisation of the event was superb and I’ve had lots of comments from people on the route who enjoyed watching the racing – it was certainly the ideal weather for it!