Northern Hive kicks off at York St John University

Professor Karen Stanton, Vice Chancellor of York St John University, kicked-off the evening with some impressive stats:

• York St John University contributes more than £60 million a year to the local economy
• 94% of York St John University students are in employment or education six months after graduation
• York St John University is ranked 7^th amongst all UK universities for the percentage of graduates in employment or education five years after graduation

The story behind these statistics is the University’s emphasis on producing students who are confident in thinking creatively whilst gaining skills with real practical application – something which is only possible because of the University’s strong relationships with employers.

A wide-ranging discussion on the employability gap took place between members of the Northern Hive panel:  

• Laurence Beckett, People Director, Aviva
• Kathryn Blacker, Chapter Steward, York Minster
• Natalie Keating, Group MD, Inspire 2 Independence
• Stuart Page, Associate Dean for Development, York St John University
• Andrew Sharp, Head of Business, Make It York.

Attendees debated the topic further and key emerging themes included:

• How to build the resilience of graduates when entering their first role and align expectations between graduates and employers
• The challenge to businesses of identifying their skills requirements with sufficient lead-in time for universities to respond
• How the new levy budget (going live in April) could create a new model of employment
• The challenges of recruiting and training for smaller organisations
• The importance of being generous in praise and encouragement of young people starting out on their careers

Thank you to those who attended for your enthusiastic contributions. If you are interested in attending future events at York St John, follow us on Twitter @YSJEvents, Facebook and the events page on our website. For more photos, take a look at the event hashtag #NorthernHive.

Edit Development are a UK-based company with three core practices: leadership development, coaching and diversity and inclusion.

Make it York is the city’s destination management organisation, developing and promoting York – both nationally and internationally – as a great place to live, visit, study, work and do business.