Nearly 750 students from five Forest of Dean schools had the opportunity to learn more about careers on their doorstep last week.

The Inspiring the Forest event, organised by the Forest Economic Partnership (FEP), welcomed year 10 students (aged 14 and 15) to Gloucestershire College's Forest campus in Cinderford to meet 21 local employers.

The visiting businesses came from across the Forest of Dean's top employment sectors:

• Hospitality and tourism

• Manufacturing and engineering

• Digital and cyber

• Health and wellbeing

• Communication and media

• Education and training

Among the guests was Mark Harper, MP for the Forest of Dean and minister for transport.

Mark Harper said: "One of the fantastic things about my job is, I get to go to companies in the Forest of Dean. All of them need talented, skilled people. They all struggle to get talented people. Particularly for SMEs, they don't always have the ability and the resources to do it all by themselves.

"Events like this, where you've companies from different industries joining together, when you've got 750 youngsters coming here, is a great opportunity for businesses of all sizes to pitch their business and their industry at young people, see who might aspire to work in that industry and give them the opportunities."

Mr Harper is a great supporter of apprenticeships.

He continued: "One of the advantages of doing apprenticeships is that, rather than businesses having to hire people who've done a general set of qualifications, they can actually take people on at an early stage. It's great for the company because there's some standard, transferable skills, and the company then gets to teach young people about how their business operates and what's required for them.

"Apprenticeships are a great opportunity both for youngsters, who get those qualifications without racking up a lot of debt, and also for the companies who get students that contribute to their business straightaway, are shaped by the culture of that company and ultimately make that business more successful."

This was the second Inspiring the Forest event. Neill Ricketts, chair of FEP, said it was even more successful than the first event, held in November last year.

Neill Ricketts said: "Kids are desperate to learn about new careers. It's all worth it at that moment where one of the pupils realises that there's more to life than they probably thought before. One of the problems is, unless your family member works in these organisations or establishments, you probably don't know they're there! If you've got a bit of a passion for something, then you can normally find someone locally who shares that passion and who could give you an opportunity.

"I always come away from these events feeling we should have more companies and more experiences. I don't know what it's like to work in some of these industries or do some of these jobs, so imagine being 15 and not knowing what it's like to have been on that journey."

The five schools taking part in the event were Dene Magna School, Five Acres High School, Newent Community School, SGS Forest High School and Wydean School.

Alan Dane, headteacher of SGS Forest High School, said: "The range of employers and opportunities here that they can learn about, so very close to home, is giving them the most wonderful futures that many of them won't have even thought about."

Working with FEP, Gloucestershire College and the other secondary schools, as well as the local employers, makes it easier for the school to achieve its aims.

Mr Dane continued: "It's very easy for us, as one school, to think that we've got to achieve all these things ourselves for our young people. When schools work together with partners like Glos Col and FEP, the energy and buzz that creates for our young people, and the strength we can have as a combined force for their future, is just wonderful.

"I know as a headteacher of a school, how wonderful the young people in the Forest of Dean are, how much potential they have and how much they have to give back to the Forest and businesses in the Forest."