Big50 Vision for North Northamptonshire launches at Tresham College

Tresham College in Corby, part of The Bedford College Group, was honoured to host a launch event for the BIG50 vision for North Northamptonshire  (16/1). The BIG50 Vision aims to make the area a proud, prosperous and proactive place by 2050.

The event brought together representatives from industry, education, local authorities, and government to present the extensive research that has been carried out as part of the BIG50 future vision project for the area.

The BIG50 project was initially started by North Northamptonshire Council but was designed from the outset to be owned by organisations across the area. The BIG50 Vision has been further developed by a Steering Group comprising of partners from across sectors, including the voluntary sector, health, education, police, business community, housing, town and parish councils and North Northamptonshire Council.

The event was opened by Yiannis Koursis OBE, CEO of The Bedford College Group, who highlighted the Group’s commitment to improving social mobility and commitment to working with the local organisations to improve the lives of those in North Northamptonshire as part of the BIG50.

Yiannis said:

“The BIG50 is an opportunity for us as a collective to create something special for the people who live and work in North Northamptonshire. We don’t want people to think that their postcode is a defining factor in their future prospects and aspirations. Our responsibility is to design a programme for businesses who are relocating or investing in the county and take it to the young people and adults in our community and say to them; there is an opportunity to have a career in that sector and that they can come to us to get the skills they need.”

North Northamptonshire Council, working together with partners, co-developed the BIG50 Vision through conversations with a range of partners and community representatives. The Vision sets out what the best life in North Northamptonshire in 2050 could look like.

Helping young people access careers and employment

Laura Jane Rawlings, Founder and CEO of Youth Employment UK, spoke about how the BIG50 vision will help young people access careers and employment in the area where they live: 

“What we know about young people in particular is they are struggling to find good opportunities where they live. We know North Northamptonshire has a lot of opportunities but there is still a disconnect between our young people and what the skills are that they are going to need and where they can end up. The BIG50 is part of the solution to youth unemployment in our area and I am really excited to see what we can do together.”

The presentations were followed by a round table discussion where guests considered how they can contribute and get involved in the BIG50 and in making it happen.

Closing the gap

Robin Webber-Jones, Executive Director of Curriculum at The Bedford College Group said:

“We were honoured to host the launch of the BIG50 at our Tresham College campus in Corby. Education is going to play a key part in closing the gap between education, skills and industry and as the largest further education provider in the county our role in the BIG50 is significant.”

Next steps

The next steps are to convene a BIG50 Board to drive forward the delivery of the BIG50 vision for North Northamptonshire and launch a public campaign to promote wider engagement for the vision. The aim moving forwards is to set out the actions and outcomes needed to deliver the BIG50 Vision today, tomorrow and for generations to come.