On Friday 5th May I held my first ever apprenticeship fair in Rochester and Strood and I was delighted to welcome so many businesses from the local area as well as hundreds of local school pupils, students and jobseekers.
I was pleased that so many students, jobseekers and businesses got plenty out of the day and I am delighted some positions have been offered. Altogether, we had 32 businesses and more than 500 attendees over the four hours. I want to give special thanks to Medway UTC for hosting and providing so much on the day.
I also want to offer thanks to all the businesses who attended, including BAE Systems, Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, Construction Industry Training Board, AllTask Ltd, IPS International, Medway Commercial Group, Portafina Ltd, Uniper Energy,
Links2Work, National Citizens Service, Canterbury Christchurch University, MidKent College, Medway Council, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Kent Fire and Rescue, Kent Police, Royal School of Military Engineering, Royal Mail, Taylor Wimpey, Aldi Stores Ltd, Umbrella Training, KFC, VeeTee, Bio-Health, Superdrug PLC, Energy Solutions UK, Arcelor Mittal, Lloyds Bank, Marks and Spencer and BT Openreach
I would also like to thank Chatham Jobcentre for advertising and all of the schools across Medway for attending, particularly during exam season.
Medway has an exciting future as more skilled work in engineering and technology continue to move into the area, which fills me with a real sense of pride. I will look to hold this event annually given the interest and success and hope that we can get more local people into this home-grown skilled jobs.
