Eastern promise

Eastern promise

Recently over 100 delegates attended ELBA’s second employer/academic conference organised in collaboration with the University of East London and held at Credit Suisse in Canary Wharf. Eastern Promise urged us all to work together to unlock the potential of our students.

Hosted by Kate Butchart, Head of Philanthropy at Credit Suisse we heard about the ambitious plans for UEL from the new Vice Chancellor, Professor Patrick McGhee. Joe Duckworth, Chief Executive of the London borough of Newham set the ecomomic context and the need for a highly skilled workforce for the future.

Gareth Cadwallader, Investor and Entrepreneur in IT, gave the keynote speech about the employer perspective. After hearing about several successful case studies, delegates broke into workshops and engaged in lively discussions about the challenges facing the employability agenda going forward. The aim of the conference was to showcase employer and academic partnerships and programmes which enable students to compete on a more level playing field for the jobs on their doorstep.