First ever UK Employability Day launched

The first ever UK Employability Day has been launched. The event, which was co-ordinated by the Employment Related Services Association, took place on 15 April.

The event was celebrated by employment support providers from throughout the UK, with over 70 employment centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland being opened.

Organisations such as employment support providers Prospects and PeoplePlus and charities Centrepoint and CAIS arranged a number of activities and events for the day to showcase the work that they do and to provide opportunities for those looking for work.

Group sessions

Prospects provided a number of inspirational activities for local people in Taunton to mark the event.

Locals had the opportunity to participate in a group session, which involved creating a vision board to represent people’s ambitions and to reflect their personality, likes, dislikes and interests.

Loretta Brown, who runs the vision board session, spoke of the benefits that the activity provides, stating: “It is so rare we give ourselves permission to be creative or take the time to absorb ourselves in a single and enjoyable task.”

Celebrations also kicked off in Fife, where Fife Council's Supported Employment Service held an open event in a local shopping centre to showcase its work.

Great opportunity

Employment Minister, Priti Patel, described Employability Day as a “great opportunity to demonstrate how employment supports growth”, and said that the event “strengthens the aspirations of local people and businesses across the country.”