Council host students for careers day

Hyndburn Borough Council were pleased to welcome students from local high school, Accrington Academy, this week as part of the school’s Careers Week.

During their visit, the students had the opportunity to hear from a host of departments and the work that they do at the council, all taking place inside Accrington Town Hall council chambers.

From learning about the role of an Environmental Health Officer to the work of Lawyers within local government, the first half of the day provided the students with a more in-depth understanding of just how many different paths there are into careers with the local council.

[Environmental health team explaining and showing pupils environmental protection wear] 

Kirsten Burnett, Head of Policy and OD, said:

“We hope that the students have enjoyed their day hearing our officers talk about their roles and that they have garnered a sense of just how diverse the career opportunities are within local government. It is fulfilling, not just for the students, but for us as a team to be able to meet with young people and to hear fresh perspectives from those who may one day find themselves working in these career-paths.”

Students listened to talks from Hyndburn Council’s employees, who detailed what their roles involved and how they related to the broader council’s structure, as well as Cllr Josh Allen supplying an insightful talk about the practicalities of the council’s decision-making process.

[pupils preparing their motion with cllr Allen ahead of a mock council meeting]

For the afternoon session students took part in a mock council meeting led by Cllr Judith Addison to debate real issues that offered them the opportunity to play their part as decision makers. Provided with a background of Hyndburn Council’s existing environmental and sustainable growth priorities that would inform their decisions and a set budget, the students agreed upon the motion that they felt was important for their local area.

The groups had time to discuss the motion presented to them and engage the other team with questions. They were given a £1million budget to work with, though none of the groups proposed to spend the full amount.

There were a wide range of ideas proposed by the teams including reducing the number of diesel-cars on the roads of Hyndburn to curbing light pollution throughout the town centre by adjusting existing street lamps. The pupils engaged in meaningful debate about what efforts could be made to ‘green’ Hyndburn and how this would look in practice. The opposing team then put questions to the other, highlighting flaws in plans and scrutinising the expenses proposed.

[Mock council meeting with Cllr Judith Addison chairing the debate]

Cllr Josh Allen, who gave the pupils an insight into being a councillor, said:

“I am pleased to say that this session, whilst an enjoyable afternoon for all participating, went beyond just being a fun activity and instead resulted in some really productive and insightful conversations with the students about local issues that gives us great hope for the future of Hyndburn.”

These sessions serve to inspire the next generation of young people to achieve all that they can and consider thoroughly the different career opportunities available to them locally and beyond.

Hyndburn Borough Council welcome similar enquiries and opportunities in the future: enquiries@hyndburnbc.gov.uk