New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership’s influential role in boosting jobs, skills and opportunities in Norfolk and Suffolk has been shared with a delegation from Nigeria.
Jordan Holder, Operational Careers Hub Lead, and Simon Papworth, Economic Analyst, hosted the visit on Wednesday 24 August by Adewale Oyerinde and Celine Oni from the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and Zakariah Piwuna from the International Training Fund.
The delegation wanted to understand the skills role played by the LEP, how it is governed, how it manages education-to-employment links and provides up to date Labour Market Information to inform its decision-making.
People & Skills is one of the LEP’s priorities and it has several programmes to address the needs in our counties. New Anglia’s Careers Hub works with 133 Schools & Colleges in Norfolk and Suffolk to develop careers programmes, provide meaningful employer encounters for pupils and ensure young people are prepared and inspired by the fast-changing world of work.
Last month, the LEP appointed eight specialist training providers to run Skills Bootcamps designed to support sectors facing labour shortages, such as construction, logistics and farming.
Mr Holder, who oversees the New Anglia Careers Hub in Suffolk, said: “The work we do at New Anglia LEP is vital for our local economy and it’s brilliant this is recognised not just in the UK, but on the international stage. We will be continuing this dialogue with our colleagues in Nigeria to support their objectives to equip their citizens with the skills they need.”
One of the delegates commented on how productive the discussions were and that it was “positive to see an organisation leading so much change across the two counties”.
