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All Together Cumbria’s Festival Of Work Returns To Lakes College Featuring 60 Employers

All Together Cumbria’s Festival of Work returns for 2023 promising ‘even more excitement and opportunities than ever before’.

The event is heading to Lakes College, in Workington, on Thursday, July 13, and will feature 60 employers, nearly 30 interactive workshops, captivating presentations, and insightful demonstrations to inspire attendees.

A pupil from St Benedict’s School takes a closer look at the Kier stall in the Construction Skills Centre

The morning session will be exclusively dedicated to over 1000 secondary school pupils, igniting their curiosity and encouraging exploration of the vast career opportunities available in the construction, engineering, nuclear, armed forces and utilities sectors.

From 2:30pm, the festival will open to individuals from all walks of life, irrespective of age or

experience. This session will provide invaluable guidance and expert advice to those eager to take the next steps in their careers within these key sectors. 

Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with industry professionals, gain insights into various career pathways, and acquire valuable knowledge about the skills and qualifications required for success.

Nicola Gorrill, Social Impact Managed for All Together Cumbria, said she would encourage as many people as possible to attend the afternoon open session to see what opportunities are on offer.

She said: “We are so excited that we get to bring Festival of Work back for 2023. We’ve extended the event to include more employers, building on the success of our 2022 event and have so many more students attending.”

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) operates in England, Scotland and Wales and will be exhibiting at the event. 

Monica Costelloe, CITB customer engagement advisor for Cumbria said: “It’s our job to help the construction industry attract talent and to support skills development.

Bill Miller from Doosan Babcock chats with the public in the National College for Nuclear building

“With careers being one of our main priorities, the Festival of Work is a fantastic opportunity for young people to see the range of jobs within the construction industry and to experience it hands-on.

“In Cumbria, there are immense opportunities within construction in the coming years and that is why we are happy to support this amazing event”.

A E Yates will also be exhibiting, looking forward to the event their performance and compliance manager Mark Lesley said: “When we heard about the Festival of Work, we knew we had to be involved. 

“Engagement of school leavers and job seekers is key to attracting new people to the industry and increasing the diversity of those in construction. It is opportunities like this that will help bridge recruitment gaps and retain the skills and knowledge for the industry to deliver infrastructure projects for future generations.”

A new addition to the event that all attendees can experience, is the introduction of a green plant zone where we will be demonstrating cutting-edge environmentally friendly plant equipment.

Additionally, Flannery will be providing a plant simulator for attendees to experience operating specialised machinery.

The Festival of Work, which sponsors include Morgan Sindall Construction, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, Shearwater, CITB, Balfour Beatty Kilpatrick, Lakes College, Sellafield Ltd, AE Yates and Jacobs, will take place on Thursday, July 13, at Lakes College, in Workington.