Students at Newcastle College took part in activities with more than 250 local employers during National Careers Week 2025.
Dubbed “Industry Week” at the College, all learners aged 16-18 took part, engaging in activities including careers fairs, keynote speakers, panel discussions, workshops, experiential projects and guest speaker sessions.
Guests included CEOs, entrepreneurs, apprentices, and an elite Head Coach for Great Britain. The common theme? Their path began in Further Education, often right here at Newcastle College.
Newcastle College Curriculum Director, Jonny Rees, said: “Industry Week has been an incredible experience for our students, providing invaluable insights, connections, and inspiration to fuel their career aspirations. Engaging with professionals has broadened their horizons and strengthened their confidence in pursuing their chosen paths.”
The keynote speaker sessions were geared at encouraging students to think about their goals, and to feel inspired to aim big in their careers.
First up were two Newcastle College alumni; Pete Mallon, Creative Director and Founder of North East Times magazine and Kimberley Cattin, Managing Partner of SB1 Group and Founder of luxury skin care brand West Barn Co. The pair shared their career journeys and gave students advice on what to focus on.
Day two was the turn of Kamal Ellis-Hyman, Motivational Speaker and Founder of Aim a Little Higher. He showed the students how important mindset is and asked them to discuss how they can shift their mindsets to get the most out of life.
The final keynote speaker for the week was Head Coach of the Newcastle Eagles, and Team GB, Marc Steutel. He said: “It was an honour and a pleasure to be able to get involved with Industry Week at Newcastle College. We have an incredible partnership with the college including a thriving basketball academy with 50 student athletes combining their Newcastle College studies with an elite sporting programme with us. I also spent seven good years working at the college, so I understand the amazing work the staff do to impact the local community and the lives of so many young people and I’m more than happy to contribute to that again.”
More than 30 employers also turned up to exhibit at the careers fairs on Monday and Thursday. Representatives from those companies and organisations talked to students about work experience, volunteering and much, much more.
Students also attended two expert panel discussions. The first one was around "The future of work - skills employers value most" where almost 200 students heard from employers Honeywell, British Engines, Newcastle United Foundation and Style Book Education about what they think the future of work will look like. They also shared the top three skills they look for when hiring new employees.
The second panel was made up of Dane Tallen from Barlocher UK, Wayne Madden from Hospitality and Hope, David Lee from Northumbria Police, Ruth Terrington from Hooked On group and Joe Danquah from Newcastle United Football Club and focused on "pathways into your ideal career".
Students also took part in various practical workshops and live briefs relevant to their industries. Engineering students had a practical session on building (and battling) robots from former Robot Wars contestant and current Director of Roaming Robots, John Findlay. Mark Rutherford and Richard Clark from the Chloe and Liam Together Forever Trust launched a live project brief with Business students at the beginning of the week and then returned on Friday to hear the best ideas, and to give the students their feedback.
Illustration Student Mikey Sproat said: “We had a talk from James Dixon that has sparked an idea in my head of mixing my two interests of art and gym into one career. I’m feeling really excited about what I could do in the future now.”