KQ Liverpool welcomes hundreds of pupils to Careers Insight Week

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Sixteen schools across Liverpool City Region took part in Knowledge Quarter Liverpool’s first-ever Careers Insight Week.

The series of events, delivered in partnership with LCR Careers Hub and funded by the Careers and Enterprise Company, saw pupils from across the Liverpool City Region engage in visits to digital and innovation sites around the KQ Liverpool innovation district and take part in experience of workplace activities with leading industry experts.  Students’ knowledge, skills and behaviours were improved and they were informed about the different types of exciting, pioneering job roles that may be available to them in future.

It culminated in an event for more than 100 Year 7 to 9 pupils at The Spine building, where pupils heard from a panel of experts in a range of innovation industries. Speakers included Charlotte Johns at Elida Beauty, Andrew Borland from the Virtual Engineering Centre, Philippa Glover of Philippa Glover Ltd, Jen Fenner from Defproc Engineering and Phil Anders at Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

The pupils were then tasked with creating a new cosmetic product for teenagers and presenting their ideas in a ‘Perfect Pitch’ exercise to a panel of judges including Charlotte Johns, Kate McDermott and Joe Cooke from Lyva Labs, and Clive Burton from the Manufacturing Technology Centre. 

Each team was asked to consider aspects such as the product’s name, advertising slogan, ingredients, target market and its unique selling points. The winning entry was entitled Clean Bean, an edible shampoo for sportspeople devised by a team of pupils from LIPA High School, while pupils from Birkenhead Park School were runners-up with their body acne treatment, LineA.  

Emily Robson, Assistant Chief Executive at KQ Liverpool, said:

“There is an abundance of career opportunities in science and technology within our innovation district and it’s vital that we are able to share those opportunities with the wider community, both through the Careers Insight Week and more broadly via our Future Innovators Programme.

“The levels of engagement and the quality of ideas the students brought forward during the week have been nothing short of incredible, reinforcing our belief that by making these innovations more accessible, we can help to give young people a unique chance to understand what is on their doorstep and alter their own future aspirations.

“This was our first Careers Insight Week and, with the support of LCR Careers Hub and Investment Zone funding, we are looking forward to welcoming many more pupils to KQ Liverpool over the coming years.”

Gill Walsh, Strategic Careers Hub Lead at Liverpool City Region Careers Hub, said:

“Collaborating with KQ Liverpool and developing a programme of ‘experience of the workplaces’ around careers in the digital and advanced manufacturing industries has meant that we have been able to engage with more young people and inspire them about the world of work.  

“Partnerships with key organisations like KQ Liverpool are not only vital in bringing employers and young people together but importantly enable us to focus on future growth opportunities linked into the relevant growth sectors for the Liverpool City Region.”

 

“National Industrial Strategy must be a new government priority” – CEO Colin Sinclair

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It is essential that the new government delivers a robust National Industrial Strategy, as promised, with devolution at its heart.

This strategy should focus not only on the areas where as a country we have our greatest strengths, such as health and life sciences, advanced manufacturing technologies, robotics, creative and digital, but also on the vital cross cutting infrastructure that underpins these potentially high growth sectors and allows them to grow, such as skills, fibre and transport connectivity.

With LCR Connect our City Region is already a pioneer in high speed connectivity alongside the Hydrogen buses and new Merseyrail trains but there is still more that can be done with improving transport connectivity. The Liverpool and Manchester Railway and new Glider buses or ‘trackless trams’ – better connecting the Knowledge Quarter to the city centre and waterfront – must be priorities in Liverpool.

Devolution must also extend beyond simply giving regions greater powers over decision-making. It must include the main funding streams from organisations such as UKRI or Innovate UK, to ensure that the funding of R&D also has a greater element of devolution.

Too often, regions are pitted against each other for funding of a specific project, meaning one loses out and invariably through that time consuming, expensive and wasteful process more investment is given to projects in the South.

Instead, I would urge the next government to invest in multiple projects across the UK where regions work closely together and collaborate for the greater economic good. Something that is already happening in the key area of life sciences across the North West, through initiatives like iiCON.

The government must also give new impetus to supporting scale-ups, as well as fostering start-ups. If we are to grow the economy we need to give startups and small businesses the confidence to take risks, after such a difficult time and so much uncertainty.

Overall, the Government needs to demonstrate that integrity is not lost to politics. Rebuilding trust, giving the markets renewed confidence and through devolution allowing the people who know their places best to regenerate their economies. A place based strategy, powered by Innovation Districts. Building aspirational housing, improving health outcomes and placing innovation at the heart of that much needed new National Industrial Strategy.”