Plugging The Gap From Education Into The Workforce
In today’s rapidly evolving global economy, connecting education and work sectors has become pivotal in harnessing local talent and educating students about the opportunities and career paths local to them.
Tackling the skills gap between the classroom and the workforce is instrumental in shaping the future of our local towns and cities. Connecting students to the workforce during their schooling journey is significant in nurturing local talent and equipping young individuals with the practical skills and insights needed to thrive in the local job market.
However, this is where the problem lies.
Connecting students successfully to local sectors and workforces has become a significant problem for many local authorities, so much so we are now seeing considerable skill gaps in our local workforce.
So how can we tackle this?
Skills fairs vs online skills fairs
Methods of connecting students to workforces do exist. From work experience to in-person events, certain provisions are in place to support the transition between education to the workforce, so why aren’t they working?
From auto-enrolment workplace placements into sectors that don’t sit within the individual student’s interests and aspirations to lack of accessibility to career events – paving your future isn’t straightforward.
Although placements and ‘in-person’ events are designed to encourage and include all students equally, they sadly don’t.
Whether due to social-economic limitations that impact an individual, or their inability to attend physically, thousands of talented students miss out on opportunities every year, further growing the skills gap we see today.
This is where online events exceed in inclusivity.
Online skills fairs eradicate many of the limitations in-person events pose. Whether it’s social-economic, a disability, an individual’s mental health considerations, or location, an Online skills fair breaks through the barriers.
With an online skills fair, students can access the interactive event via the internet from home, local schools and libraries at a time and space that is convenient for them.
How Are Online Skills Fairs Bridging The Gap?
Online skills fairs are changing the way we think about education and the workforce, and more importantly, they are offering a platform to connect with students and businesses in a method built for today.
When you consider that 80% of career-related research is conducted online, and our upcoming Gen-Z workforce is the heaviest consumer of online content, we have to evolve how we think about connecting students to the workforce.
When you host an online skills fair, you open the door to opportunities wider than what has ever previously existed. With the flexibility to attend from any location at any time, you not only offer students the most accessible and inclusive pathway, but you all provide businesses with maximum exposure.
Making it a win-win for both parties – all you need is a Wi-Fi connection!
What Are The Benefits of Hosting An Online Skills Fair?
In our digital-first age, we need to offer an all-inclusive and clear pathway from education into the workplace to attract and inspire local talent to plug the ever-growing skillset gaps that we are seeing in local businesses and sectors.
Free Platform For Local Authorities
Our Smart Skills Fair is a free platform for all local authorities and is customisable to resemble your communities identity.
Here’s how you can get started as an organiser
- To access the platform, register your interest in an Organiser Exhibition.
- You will then be sent an email to create an account via our 360Expo Portal.
- Once you have created your account, you can start designing your event.
- When you have finished designing your exhibition, you can start to invite local businesses.
- Local businesses will be prompted to make an account and pay for their stand.
- Once all the businesses have set up their stands, you can start promoting your exhibition.
Limitless Access & Opportunity
Accessible via the internet one of the biggest advantages of hosting an online skills event is the ease of accessibility and inclusivity. Organisers can choose to host for any duration, breaking through the limitations and costs of a physical venue. While organisers may still opt to host an ‘in-person’ event, attendees who may have missed an opportunity in person can attend online to explore a business after they have left the event.
Maximum Exposure
Being online, of course, means increased visibility to your company and sector.
While ‘in-person’ events can host a large volume of individuals, the volume of attendees often impacts experience and interactions with businesses negatively. With an online event, attendee numbers do not have the same impact. The interactive stands enable attendees to freely discover content displayed (video, pdf, images, downloads) without wading through a queue of individuals. Attendees can also schedule virtual meetings with stand hosts at a convenient time for both the business and the individual making interactions more streamlined and effective.
Affordable Stand Pricing For Businesses
For £12.50 + VAT, local businesses can promote their industry with a fully customisable, interactive stand. Designed to be visually appealing, our stands offer a seamless experience for all attendees.
Stands can display content such as video, image galleries, PDFs, downloadables, and enquiry forms.
Attendees can also schedule a meeting and leave contact information to stand holders who they are interested in.
Inspiring Local Talent
One of the growing concerns for many local councils is the skills gap we see today.
Whether through lack of accessibility or knowledge, the existing structure inspiring talent locally is failing our local businesses and communities.
With an ‘accessible anywhere at any time platform, we can start to close the gap and inspire local talent into local businesses.
Sponsorship Opportunities
Within each tour, an array of sponsorship opportunities awaits, ranging from prominent placements like the entrance banners to sidewall displays and even a circling blimp. These diverse advertising avenues offer opportunities for businesses to showcase their brand and gain visibility on their website and services. Embracing sponsorship is an excellent way to promote your business and reach a broader audience effectively.
