November is National Career Development Month. It was set up by the National Career Development Agency (NCDA) in 1967 as an annual event to promote career development and help people attain their work goals. As well as giving advice and suggestions to businesses and schools hosting career development events, the NCDA also sponsors an annual poetry contest around the subject.

And, as you’d expect, we thought we’d like to get involved here at The Base. So, we asked our Business Development Manager, Sylvie Morton, to give us the lowdown on what initiatives we’re supporting and anything else we’re doing to mark the month.

‘Perhaps the biggest and most exciting thing we’ve secured this year is a free scholarship with Code Nation for their 12- week Master Coding bootcamp, where someone will have the chance to learn how to become a junior software developer. A tenant here at The Base has taken this up, so one of their recent graduate recruits will be going to improve their knowledge and coding skills.

‘The Code Nation bootcamps are fantastic, as they give attendees real-life skills that employers are crying out for in the world of coding, and about 90% of people who go on the camps go on to get fantastic jobs after being on the course.

‘Another thing we’re doing is promoting the Cheshire and Warrington LEP Accelerate programme to our tenants. This is where businesses can get a grant they can put towards skills training for employees. It could be as much as 100% in some cases, so it’s a really great opportunity, especially after the year we’ve all had in 2020.

‘We’re also actively letting people know what apprenticeships are available locally, and also pushing the  government’s Kickstart Scheme. The scheme gives funding to employers, so they can find temporary job placements of 25 hours a week for 6 months for 16-24 years old who are on Universal Credit. It gives them work experience and – who knows – the companies might uncover a fantastic person they want to take on permanently.

‘This is co-ordinated by Warrington Borough Council locally, who we’re always delighted to work with, as we operate The Base building on their behalf.

‘National Career Development Month is a wonderful program to support as it benefits both employers and employees. Businesses can empower their staff to achieve their goals, and they can access financial and practical help they might not ordinarily be able to. We’re very happy to lend our support to it in any way we can.’

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The Base is a grade A office and co-working space in the centre of Warrington that’s home to many market leading digital tech companies. Contact us for more information.