Get Up & Go is an national event held annually and coordinated locally by Connexions Gateshead. The 2010 event was held at the prestigious Gateshead Skills Academy on Friday 5th February between 9am & 4pm and on Saturday 6th February between 10am & 3pm. Gateshead Skills Academy is home to the Gateshead Collective a consortium of leading Work Based Learning providers of which NEETA Ltd is a founder member.
On Friday 5th February, Get up and Go 2010 got underway. All schools in the Gateshead borough were invited to send along pupils from years 10 & 11. Buses were provided by "The Collective" to bring pupils from their school to the Skills Academy and then back again. Different schools gave different levels of support to the day, but on the whole, attendance was good and more than 350 pupils were welcomed over the course of the day.
As well as NEETA Ltd, providers at the event included; Gateshead Council; Gateshead College; Access; Itec; Zodiac; TDR; Resources; Rainbow Training; Rathbone and Future Strategies covering a vast spectrum of Apprenticeship opportunites.
In addition, representatives came from The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) and Connexions to offer independent advice and guidance to all.
Get up & Go also welcomed a special guest. Local Labour MP Dave Anderson to the event. Mr Anderson, who undertook an Apprenticeship after leaving school, took time from his busy schedule to visit all of the providers at the event and also spoke to some of the pupils to see what they thought.
Mr Anderson said "Events such as this are extremely important in ensuring our young people are fully informed about the many options available to them after leaving school.
"Apprenticeships and work-based learning provide a great opportunity to study and gain experience and skills at the same time. They offer a very direct route into employment and employers are increasingly recognising the benefits they get from hiring apprentices."
On Saturday 6th February, Get up & Go opened its doors and everyone was welcome to come and view the facilities on offer at the Skills Academy and learn more about options available. Connexions sent out literature to every year 10, 11, 12 & 13 students in Gateshead, inviting them to attend the Saturday event. There was advertising on local Radio and Press, however, the attendance was down on last year.
Across the 2 days we received alot of very positive feedback. By completing an event evaluation form, attendees were entered into a prize draw. 2 lucky winners each received a Netbook supplied by the Gateshead Collective.
Dates for Get up & Go 2011 are yet to be announced-Watch this space...
Leave a comment