Imagine a world where community, education and business worked together to make careers education fun … opening in Spring this year, Skills Street is South Yorkshire’s new, interactive world of work learning experience set to inspire a workforce for Rotherham’s future.

Located at Gulliver’s Valley theme park, Skills Street will revolutionise how the region delivers work-related experiences and training for young people, schools, families, and educators. Skills Street is a community interest company that will open up meeting spaces, event and leisure experiences as well as a publicly accessible community café for visitors.

This innovative centre provides a hands-on approach to developing, growing, and honing skills, aiming to inspire and inform people of all ages about careers and the world of work across all sectors and industries. In its first year, Skills Street aims to impact 16,000 school aged learners whilst delivering both corporate and family experiences – an immersive airport experience with flight simulator will offer visitors a unique opportunity to fly from Rotherham to any airport in the world whilst showcasing careers across the travel, tourism and aviation industries (watch this space).

Development Lead, James Beighton, spoke to Wave Magazine last month, sharing updates on this exciting development across our region – “Skills Street is a real opportunity to place South Yorkshire in context, raising visibility of jobs and career pathways whilst bringing the voice of industry into education. We’re taking a pro-active and practical approach to narrowing skills gaps across critical sectors.  This is as much about aspiration raising and inspiring the next generation as it is working with community to remove barriers to attainment, one skill at a time”.

Key Skills Investor partners already include:

• Energy and Infrastructure: E.ON, highlighting decarbonisation work happening across South Yorkshire with a focus on renewable energy and waste management, including solar, wind, and water power.
• Built Environment: Esh Group, delivering construction in curriculum programs covering quantity surveying, environmental design (water cycle), and construction project management.
• Health and Social Work: NHS and Rotherham Council, exploring 380 career pathways from clinical and allied health to facilities and professional services. Recognition of the significant local and national skills needs linked to community care and social work.
• Advanced Manufacturing: Gripple, showcasing robotics and automation for innovative manufacturing as a key focus for the future on engineering and digital design.
• Retail: Fast fashion partners – focusing on distribution, logistics and supply chain management. The journey from click to consumer.

Keep an eye on progress here and follow updates across social media channels and www.skills-street.co.uk/businesses