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Our fourth annual STEM Conference & Exhibition and our Annual Progression Fair

9 March 2023 saw the fourth annual STEM Conference and the Exhibition and the Annual Progression Fair take place at Franklin. A day where many hundreds of local students in years 10 and 12 from schools across Lincolnshire and Franklin Sixth Form College took part in workshops and activities designed to support their progression aspirations.

The two annual events together form a unique and far-reaching set of experiences for young people, representing the ‘Jewel in the Crown’ of our Centre for Professional Development (CfPD), a nationally recognised Franklin initiative that brings coherence to working with local schools, employers, other stakeholders, families and young people in order to support and develop the highly skilled professionals of the future.

Locally, regionally and nationally, the drive to focus on our future workforce and the skills agenda recognises the need for skilled young people to support economic development. The CfPD was established to complement this drive, to ensure that the need for and importance of professional pathways is a vital constituent of skills development across a range of areas including healthcare, for logistics managers, for lawyers, accountants, teachers and a wealth of other, equally valued occupations that our local and regional communities need in order to secure and maintain a healthy and prosperous future.

A growing number of schools, employers & organisations are engaging with us in this work, developing bespoke progression pathways that meet both the ambitions of young people and the needs of our employers to support their business development.

This year’s STEM conference was the biggest yet! Involving Y10 groups from 13 Lincolnshire schools alongside Franklin students taking STEM programmes. Over 500 young people interested in STEM careers taking part on over 30 hands on workshops delivered by a range of universities, employers and stakeholders.

The Progression Fair taking place the same evening allowed our visiting pupils and teachers to get advice and guidance from the almost 100 universities, employers and other stakeholders present, with our own Franklin students and their families being able to explore progression options through discussion with exhibitors and a range of progression-specific talks and workshops.

A huge range of positive feedback from schools, students, exhibitors, workshop providers and families made it all worthwhile. Next year we’ll go bigger and better!