"Oldham is entering a confident new chapter" - two major events to drive career opportunities in the borough

Oldham Council is putting jobs and skills at the top of its agenda this Thursday by running two linked events on the same day. The morning's Oldham Works Summit at the Civic will unveil the borough's five-year Employment and Skills Plan, while the afternoon's Future Ready Careers Experience at Queen Elizabeth Hall will give hundreds of teenagers a first taste of work in everything from green construction to cyber security.

The summit brings together college heads, major employers and voluntary groups to agree how local people will be trained for the roles firms say they need. The plan that emerges will steer spending on apprenticeships, adult courses and school-leaver routes until 2030, with the council promising that every neighbourhood should feel the benefit.

Across town, more than 650 pupils from Years 9 to 11 will try hands-on tasks set by companies already hiring in Oldham. Sectors represented include engineering, health and social care, digital tech, finance and the creative industries. For the first time, the careers fair is also open to home-educated teenagers, young people with special educational needs and those currently outside school or work.

Doors open to schools at 10 am and the last hour, from 2 pm to 3 pm, is a free-for-anyone session for any 13-to 18-year-old who turns up. The council says the day is a direct follow-on from its CyberFirst pilot and is intended to widen the digital talent pool before planned expansions of the local tech sector.

Councillor Mohon Ali, who leads on education and skills, describes the twin events as the start of 'a confident new chapter' built on practical partnerships rather than promises. Whether the plan can reverse Oldham's long-standing youth employment gap will depend on how quickly the pledged training places turn into actual local jobs.