Never give up: event gives students hope after exams

A careers advice event has given GCSE and A-level students hope about their future education and employment options.

Peterborough City Council and the Youth Hubs organised two events for young people who were uncertain about their next steps after receiving their exam results.

The city has one of the highest levels of 16-17 year-olds Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEETs) in the country.

One student, Euan, said: "It's a good place to understand what jobs and education you could get into. It's given me a lot of confidence to find something that suits me and gives me the opportunity to do what I enjoy. It's given me hope that I can still pursue the things I'm interested in."

The 16-year-old said he was "disappointed" not to get the GCSE grades he wanted but the event has given him options for the future.

"Apprenticeships are a good way to get the experience whilst also making money, which is always a good thing, especially for young people like me," he said.

His father Stuart said the event "was very useful".

"The GCSE grades are what they are. You just have to move on to the next step. There's always going to be something else that you can do, so it's just keep going."

A-level results day careers event 'Discovering Your Next Chapter' took place on 13 August at Peterborough Youth Hub, while the GCSE results day event took place on Thursday at The BRDG in Bridge Street.

The events brought together education providers, employers, training organisations and support services to help attendees explore their options and plan for the future.

Ali Rehman, 19, who retook his GCSEs, said: "Coming here, it's like getting more opportunities and seeing what's about... I'm looking to get into apprenticeships.

"I just want to push myself further and become a better version of myself.

"Young people will struggle but one piece of advice I will give is never give up, you will always have setbacks, you will always be put down but don't let that get to you, you know, push yourself further."

Sadie Carnichan, youth coordinator at BRDG hub, said the event was "successful".

"The idea of the Bridge Youth Hub is it's a safe space for young people aged 16 to 24 who are classified as NEET, that have somewhere to go for support and guidance with finding their next chapter, locating what kind of career path they want to have and just someone to talk to and interact with so they don't feel so isolated at home."

Shabina Qayyum, leader of Peterborough City Council, said: "I think that there has been a real effort to recognise this fact in line with the high level of NEET percentage population that we have.

"I'm really encouraged by how we're working across the board more in partnership with our education providers like Inspire Education Group who are doing phenomenal work on the ground alongside us to make sure that we tap into that population."

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