A NEW£4.3 million programme to deliver careers guidance to students in regional schools and colleges will be led by a Bradford-based company.

Aspire-igen overcame strong national and international competition to deliver the FutureJobs programme, which it says will revolutionise careers guidance in Yorkshire.

It will bring employers, apprentices and careers guidance professionals directly into schools and colleges throughout the region, including across Bradford, Craven and Calderdale.

Aspire-igen was chosen from a long list of national and international bidders to manage the programme, which is supported by the Skills Funding Agency and the European Structural and Investment Fund.

FutureJobs will bring together local and household name companies, apprenticeship ambassadors and careers professionals to run focused events and one-to-one advice sessions to thousands of students.

Schools will also have opportunities to work jointly with businesses to develop specialist resources in advanced manufacturing, digital industries and construction.

The project has created 18 jobs at Aspire-igen, which will move into a Bradford city centre base on Cheapside in January.

Nick Whiteside, director of employment and skills at Aspire-igen, said: “We’re extremely pleased that the Local Enterprise Partnership highlighted this area as needing development.

“With more and more pressures on educators critical opportunities to help young people make informed decisions about growth industries can be missed.

“Together with our partners we can put this much needed resource to good effect.We’re also pleased that the funders have chosen us, as a Yorkshire-based organisation, to deliver on the ground.”

The programme was commissioned following consultation with the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership Aspire-igen will deliver the programme with partners Calderdale & Kirklees Careers, the Ahead Partnership and NYBEP.

Schools and colleges should contact futurejobs@aspire-igen.com