A SUPPORT network who provide career guidance and advice to schools and colleges across Berkshire are celebrating three years of success.

There are 40 schools and colleges across Berkshire who are signed up to The Enterprise Adviser Programme, which is a national initiative addressing the lack of knowledge and engagement facing young people.

An enterprise adviser visited Reading girls schools to offer advice and explain the steps she took towards her career goal to inspire students.

Syreeta Harewood, talent partner at Redwood Technologies, said: “It’s important to recognise that not everyone has the opportunity to find out about careers at an early age, so to be able to provide this to young people and increase their awareness of the various careers paths available to them means that more opportunities will be available to them in the future.”

Headed by the Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, the programme places volunteers in schools and colleges to help students think about what jobs they would like to pursue.

Kate Thomson, careers lead at Reading Girls School, said: "We benefit hugely from our Enterprise Adviser who has supported us by providing an employer’s perspective on how we can best prepare our students in choosing a career path.

"It is great that we have a strong female role model from the tech sector for our girls to aspire to.

"We know that the tech industry is important in our area and can offer a huge number of different career opportunities.”

Allison Giles, senior enterprise coordinator, said: “This is a milestone achievement and goes to show the value of business in education, along with the strategic support that local employer involvement can bring to the success of careers in schools."

Students from Reading Girls School also took part in the event and were offered advice on career paths and what opportunities they can take in the future of employment.