BFS 2017: The Aftermath

A few weeks on from the Big Futures Show 2017, Sussex Business Times again reports back on the success of the event, this time hearing from some of the event’s visitors and exhibitors

Just like previous years, the Big Futures Show 2017 was yet again a huge success. Around 1400 visitors – comprising of students between the ages of 14 and 19 from 17 schools and colleges, carers and members of the public – visited 108 exhbitors, covering almost every sector, offering inspiration and advice to young people from all walks of life and with every kind of interest.

This included the new Disability Confident zone, kindly supported by Caroline Ansell MP and sponsored by Legal & General. Also new for 2017 was the Employability Hub jointly run by Hastings Direct and the team at Sussex Downs College, which helped to provide context for the day and allowed students to leave understanding new skills for their journey ahead.

The show’s organisers engaged Shopper Anonymous to visit exhibitors during the day and judge them based on their display and engagement criteria. They found that a high proportion of exhibitor’s presentation was good and engaging, and among the best was Help Me I’m A Medic, John Young Media and harnessVR.com.

Although next year promises to be bigger and better than before, the challenge still remains for finding a suitable venue for the Big Futures Show 2018, but all will be revealed in due course so keep your eyes peeled!

The Lord Leutenant of East Sussex, Peter Field commented post-event: “Congratulations on an excellent show in Eastbourne. It was a terrific occasion and it was so good to see first-hand the massive number of stall holders and so many youngsters showing such an interest.” Further to the very positive remarks made by the Lord Luitenant, visitors of the show have been adding their comments and suggestions via an online evaluation facility – here’s what a few of them had to say…

James Neetar, harnessVR.com: “harnessVR had a blast and I hope all that tried our VR Roller Coaster enjoyed the experience. We received wonderful feedback!”

David Underwood, SIGTA: “Once again an excellent event and a huge thanks goes to the team for running another great show for us to promote apprenticeships.”

Chloe Attrill, Willingdon Community School: “Thank you for inviting Willingdon to the Big Futures Show. The students and staff really enjoyed it and the organisation meant that it was very easy to bring such a large volume of students with us.”

Caroline Austen, Sussex Downs College: “Students really enjoyed the experience and have commented on a range of employability skills that they have used and improved. For many it was a real eye-opener to what a full day’s work actually involves!”

One parent commented: “The Big Futures Show was well set up and informative. As a parent I found out information about further updating in my trade, which I didn’t know about. It was good to know that there are so many different options out there for different ways into careers!”