Made Great in Grimsby Turn Attention to Secondary School Children and Teachers
July 24, 2024
It's been a busy month for the Made Great in Grimsby Schools Ambassador, Joanne Woodhouse, as focus and attention switched to educating young people and teachers about careers in seafood and the wider sector opportunities.
Over 1900 year 10 students from the region visited the North East Lincolnshire Council Skills Fair which included the Made Great in Grimsby seafood village. This was the second year the presence from the seafood industry was there and again, we had a great response from all who visited. The village had representatives from Hilton Seachill, Young's Seafood, Northcoast Seafoods, Eurofins, New England Seafoods, University of Lincoln and Seafish Industry Authority. Together with the businesses, the Made Great in Grimsby team of Joanne Woodhouse and Julie Waites, presented educational materials, prizes and insights into many career opportunities and job roles working in the regional seafood cluster. Joanne commented "It's been an amazing day. We have engaged with so many young people and had a great response, lots of interest in learning more and meeting the team. We've given out a wealth of literature and merchandise to help spread the message. In addition to this we've had many enquiries from schools to follow-up with visits from the team and businesses to talk to young people about career opportunities. I'd like to thank Karen Linton at North East Lincolnshire Council and her team for this initiative - the event goes from strength to strength every year".
The skills fair was quickly followed by a bespoke Made Great in Grimsby Teachers' Encounters day. The day was attended by ten careers advisers, teachers of food teachnology and Careers Leaders who listened to a presentation of the regional seafood cluster followed by a tour of Eurofins, Alfred Enderby and Premier Seafoods. Most of the secondary schools in NE Lincolnshire were represented during the day with a strong presence from Toll Bar Academy, Havelock Academy, Oasis Wintringham and Grimsby Institute.
We set the delegates a challenge - to go home and cook some fish, kindly provided by Premier Seafoods. A number of these have been shared on our social media platform and we are soon to decide our winner.
Hayley Gilham, Operational Manager Employability remarked "thank you for exposing us first hand to businesses and an industry that is not always visible to the day to day passer-by. A thoroughly enjoyable, insightful and educational day".
Another delegate shared "The day was so inspiring and insightful. I didn't know the scale of the seafood industry in Grimsby and the wide ranging career opportunities for young people. It's such a global industry. It was also great fun cooking the seafood meal wearing our Made Great in Grimsby branded chefs apron."
Joanne added "We are so pleased to have shared the day with professionals who will help to inspire the next generation about the seafood cluster. There's still much work to be done in getting messages about careers in seafood out there. We're committed to making sure young people in our area have the best understanding of our truly global sector, the career pathways and opportunities within it."
A second Teachers Encounter day will be held in October. If you would like to book a place please contact Joanne for more information jo@woodhouseeducation.co.uk