BRADFORD Council has hosted an aspirational careers event with the civil service for young people in the city.

The Civil Service Local event at City Hall was attended by the Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Doreen Lee.

It aimed to raise young peoples’ career aspirations and increase awareness of the Civil Service as an employer to people from diverse backgrounds.

More than 50 young people attended the event from Beckfoot Academy and Bradford University as well as local people who are seeking employment through Bradford’s SkillsHouse.

The event provided students with the opportunity to develop skills and experiences that will be helpful in the search for future employment. Through small group sessions, staff worked with young people to give them an understanding about:

• Opportunities for attaining skills in apprenticeship schemes and fast track schemes

• The different departments (108 in total) that make up the civil service and what they do

• The employment opportunities on offer in the Bradford District

Feedback from those who took part was hugely positive.

One young person said: “I didn’t expect so much support would exist in the workplace. It’s not just about getting paid!”

While another young person said: “I loved the Border Force stand, it was really interesting. Every day is different – action packed!”

The event has been supported in Bradford by the Council’s Industrial Centres of Excellence partnership support team, and the Education Covenant team. The Education Covenant aims to bring the whole community to play a part in helping young people to succeed in life. A key priority of the covenant is to work with businesses and colleges to boost career options.

Steve McCall, part of the civil service team who designed the event, said: “The term ‘civil service’ cannot portray the huge mix of different jobs across 108 different departments.

“This was the first event of its kind in Bradford and shows that shows that any entry point into the civil service can lead to a career that can take you across the UK and even the world. Hopefully, today has helped people think differently about the civil service and perhaps in a few years they will return and run an interactive session themselves!

“Thanks must go to Bradford Council, the Education Partnership, the schools and colleges and Civil Service Local for their help in putting this event on.”

Councillor Imran Khan, portfolio holder for education, employment and skills, said: “This event is about Inspiring young people to show them that no matter where they start in life, with the right attitude, there are some fantastic and very varied employment opportunities that they can aim for. Linking education with businesses to help young people understand the employment opportunities that exist in our local area is a key ambition of our Education Covenant.”