A project to help drive careers guidance for young people in Cumbria is celebrating its first birthday.

Cumbria Careers Hub links with employers in the county and aims to strengthen links between the world of work and the curriculum.

Recently, Lakeland Arts in Windermere, and Oxley Group, based in Ulverston, became the Cumbria hub's first cornerstone employers.

This means they work with their networks, the wider business community and the hub to give strategic support to clusters of secondary schools and colleges to help strengthen careers provision.

Cumbria Careers Hub is managed and part-funded by Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, with the Careers and Enterprise Company.

Mike Smith OBE, local enterprise board member and chair of its people, employment and skills strategy group, said: “Most recent data for performance shows continued improvement. That’s extremely encouraging and gives us good reason to celebrate.

“However, we must ensure that we build upon the achievements of the hub’s first year.

"Cumbria’s economy will face a range of challenges in the months and years ahead and our young people will be among our most valuable assets as we face those challenges.

“For their sake and ours, we need to ensure that the links between education and the workplace are as strong and effective as possible.

“For that reason, I would strongly urge any employers who feel they have something to offer Cumbria’s young people, such as becoming a cornerstone employer, to get in touch with the hub.”

A celebration event will be held at the partnership's conference centre at Redhills, near Penrith, on Wednesday.

It will bring together headteachers, college principals, school governors and careers leaders along with employers, organisations and individuals who have provided support.

Delegates will also take part in workshops aimed at applying learning from the first year of operation to ensure that the Cumbria Hub continues to develop and build upon its performance, rated as one of nine top quartile performers among the 38 LEP areas in England.