A new website has been launched in Mansfield to help young people make informed career and education choices and enable employers find the local talent they are seeking.
Start in Mansfield (link to Start in Mansfield website opens in new window) has been set up as a one-stop shop where local students can register to receive personalised information tailored to support career and education choices, whether a college course, A-levels, an apprenticeship or a university degree.
They can also build a record of achievements and record evidence of their career development in one place, helping to create a stand-out CV or prepare for future interviews.
Employers can also use the portal to influence and inform a wide and diverse range of future talent in schools and colleges. They can add a company profile to the site and even engage students in online tasters and virtual work placements.
There is also a section to inform parents of the different kinds of learning pathways there are to qualifications and employment for their children.
Teacher and careers advisers will find the portal useful, too, in supporting student transition from school and college to employment.
The portal has been set up in collaboration with, and with funding from, local enterprise partnership D2N2.
Cllr Stuart Richardson, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Growth, said: "Great strides are being made in Mansfield to help address certain long-standing issues that employers have had in finding employees with the right sort of qualifications.
"Our local FE college here is now working with Nottingham Trent University to offer higher education level courses and this should see an influx of new students to Mansfield.
"The Start in Mansfield website is another strand in the council's over-arching ambitions to make this district a place where people will choose to study and then to stay afterwards, employed in good, high quality jobs.
"The portal aims to be a bridge between students, employers, parents and teachers where they can access all they need to know in terms of how best to turn their career dreams into reality."