Local Advisory Boards

Are you passionate about opening doors for young people? As a member of a Career Academy's Local Advisory Board (LAB), you can make a real impact on the delivery of the programme and the opportunities afforded to its students.

Each Career Academy has a Local Advisory Board which acts as a partnership between the Career Academy and the local business community, providing support at both a strategic and practical level to help the school or college reach its goals. The LAB meets at least three times a year and board members have the following objectives:

• To serve as Career Academy advocates, leveraging corporate and community connections to raise awareness of the Career Academy and build support.
• To agree the strategy of the Career Academy with each LAB member taking responsibility to meet the agreed objectives and drive the programme forward.
• To agree the curriculum ensuring it is relevant to the programme and to the current skills requirement in the workplace.
• To help develop mentoring, masterclasses, workplace visits and other relevant enrichment experiences for Career Academy students and teachers.
• To assist in securing or sponsoring paid internships for Career Academy students.
• To assist in local programme budget development and fundraising strategy.
• To act as a catalyst for change in state education, in support of the school/college's institutional improvement plans.

Benefits

In addition to having a real say in how the programme is delivered and how it can best benefit the students, you can also:

• Network with local employers
• Gain and share teamwork / leadership skills
• Understand and influence educational strategy and decision-making
• Personal development
• Raise your organisation’s profile within your community.

LAB members should represent a demographic cross section from employers in the community. They should be well networked individuals who can use their corporate and community-wide access to act as an effective advocate and secure additional support for the Career Academy. The LAB should also include the relevant teaching staff, the Career Academy Coordinator and the Career Academies UK Regional Manager.

Independent research conducted by Career Academies UK strongly suggests that without an effective LAB in place, the school or college is likely to struggle to deliver all aspects of the Career Academy programme to its students.

This is an exciting way for employers to engage with education and an excellent self development opportunity allowing you to improve networking, communication and interpersonal skills. If you'd like to get involved then please get in touch by emailing [email protected]

"I think that the LAB is crucial to the success of a Career Academy...As a recently retired businessman it has been very rewarding - both professionally and personally - to work as Chair with my colleagues in achieving tangible results. As Chair I have also been able to develop a very close working partnership with the school's Career Academy Coordinator - another fundamental component of a successful Career Academy. All in all my two years as LAB Chair have been a highlight of my new working life."

David Zell, David Zell Associates Ltd