Mayor attends event celebrating employment initiative

We hosted local businesses to say thank you for being part of Talent United, our employer engagement initiative.

Talent United aims to bridge the gap between education and employment, by working with the local community and providing students with meaningful employer engagements and creating ‘work-ready’ students who have the skills to progress into employment.

“Thank you to each and every individual for all of their support and hard work with Talent United and the College’s Industry Weeks”

The College invited businesses and the Mayor of Barnsley, Councillor Michael Stowe, to celebrate with a selection of the cultural and impactful sessions that students have experienced this year, including music from Saxophonist Catherine Rannus and Japanese Koto player Sumie Kent.

During the keynote speech, Milk Education’s anti-knife crime ambassador Byron Highton explained his personal journey into stopping knife crime in the UK, following a memorable talk at the College during the Public Services Industry Week earlier this year.

Some of the businesses in attendance at the event were Berneslai Homes, Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Wathwood Hospital, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Barnsley Museums and Heritage Trust, Depaul UK, NatWest and Virgin Money.

Mayor of Barnsley, Councillor James Michael Stowe, said: “The session by Byron was massively impactful; it’s great to see he has turned the negativity he has experienced into a positive outlet by coming to the College to share his story and deliver it with so much passion.

“Topical subjects like knife crime are so important for young people to be educated on; this session should be watched by everyone to see the shocking effects of knife crime and eradicate knife crime from our society.”

Lee Perks, Enterprise Team Leader at the College, added: “Thank you to each and every individual for all of their support and hard work with Talent United and the College’s Industry Weeks; without your help and support, we couldn’t provide the industry expertise to allow our students to progress so successfully.

“We hope the event allowed businesses to celebrate and network with each other as well as seeing the other work that goes on at the College, through the empowering sessions Milk Education have been running this past year in subjects that drive wellness, diversity and safety awareness.”