Bedford Borough Council has hosted a careers fair at Borough Hall for children in care and care-experienced young people, bringing council staff from across its services face to face with the young people it supports. The council reported the event on 10 November 2026.

Teams from across the council turned out for the evening event, covering services from Public Health and IT to Communications and Highways. Dozens of staff manned stalls where they spoke to young people, their parents and guardians about the careers the council offers.

What young people heard

As well as the stalls, the fair included short talks about career journeys from two senior council figures: Chris Morris, the council's Service Director for Education, SEND and Schools, and Deputy Chief Executive Craig Austin. Both spoke about their own paths into their current roles.

Councillor Jane Walker, Portfolio Holder for Valuing Families: Children's Services, said she was proud of the number of staff who gave up their time to speak to young people and show them how many opportunities there are, whether with the council or in the wider working world.

She added that it can be difficult for young people still at school to imagine how many possible careers there are, and said she hoped the evening's event would help them make the most of their futures.

Why the council ran the fair

The fair was aimed at children in care, care-experienced young people and other children the Borough works with. It forms part of the council's wider work to inspire young people to think about their future and understand the breadth of opportunities available to them.

For young people who have spent time in care, meeting employers in person can be a first step towards work. The fair gave them a chance to ask questions, hear first-hand accounts of different jobs, and see the range of roles inside a single local authority, from frontline public health work to highways, communications and technology.

Careers at Bedford Borough Council

A local council is one of the largest employers in its area, and Bedford's fair showcased that range in a single room. Public Health teams work on community wellbeing, IT teams keep council systems running, Communications teams explain council services to residents, and Highways teams look after the borough's roads.

Young people who attended the fair can follow up the conversations they started there by looking at the council's current vacancies and apprenticeship opportunities, which are advertised on the council's website. The fair itself carried no application deadline, but the contacts made on the night are the point: a direct conversation with someone doing the job is often the best way to find out what a career really involves.

Part of a wider push

Careers fairs for young people are running across the country this month, including events aimed at school pupils, apprenticeship seekers and jobseekers in health and social care. Bedford's event stands out because it was designed specifically for children in care and care-experienced young people, a group that can face extra barriers when moving into work.

More details are available in the council's report on the event, published on the Bedford Borough Council website.