The two organisations will bring together schools, colleges, and industry members, increasing awareness of the varied careers and available pathways open to young people in the mineral products sector.
The partnership is looking to recruit Enterprise Advisers and Cornerstone Employers across England in key areas of strategic importance to the mineral products industry.
Enterprise Advisers are business volunteers who work with schools and colleges and their leadership teams to help develop high-quality careers programs. Cornerstone Employers are businesses and employers that have made an institutional-level commitment to improving local careers education.
Enterprise Advisors and Cornerstone Employers will be matched with their local Careers Hub – which brings together local businesses, schools, colleges, apprenticeship and training providers and local partners – to drive improvements in careers education in the region. Cornerstone Employers will also promote the partnership via community engagement and their own recruitment activities.
Businesses already signed up to the partnership approach include Sibelco, CEMEX, Hanson, Tarmac, and Wainwrights. The partnership will also benefit from a £6.5 million re-development by the National Stone Centre in Derbyshire, providing regional support where education and the industry can provide meaningful encounters directly to young people and CPD opportunities to teaching staff. The National Stone Centre and Somerset Earth Science Centres are the first two Minerals Matter hubs to support the industry pilot.
Emily Noble, Future Careers Manager, Minerals Matter, said: "This is vital work as we seek to address the succession, skill gaps and global challenges the industry faces over the next decade. The next generation of the workforce will have a critical role to play in the future success of the industry, and it is, therefore, essential we take collective responsibility for attracting new people and working via strategic partners like CEC to ensure a structured approach to delivery."
Erica Chamberlain, Head of Strategic Business Partnerships at The Careers & Enterprise Company, said: "It is our mission to help every young person find their best next step.
"Building links between business and education is vital to improving careers education. By bringing these two worlds together, young people get a better insight into the world of work, the rich opportunities available in this sector and the pathways open to them. And teachers are given the opportunity to enrich their curriculum, helping young people understand the real-world application of their learning and to better guide them about their future options.
Viv Russell, MPQC Chief Executive Officer, who has 45 years of industry experience, commented: "This is a bold partnership that seeks to inform and inspire primary, secondary, and further education students about the importance of the mineral products sector. We can demonstrate its diversity of opportunity and inclusive working conditions, providing lifetime careers and security."
