B2B Exhibition – Business Week 2022

Business Week launched on October 10th 2022 with members of the DYW Ayrshire team attending a programme of events throughout the week.

Mid week is the B2B Exhibition which was held at the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock with over 60 businesses in attendance. Each year, we have a theme and this years theme was Top Gun. Employers were able to collect their boarding pass to DYW Ayrshire, fuel up at our fuelling station, enter our danger zone or strike a pose at our photo booth with some props including aviator glasses. They could also enter their business cards into our ‘ring of fire’ to be in with the chance of winning a prize: congratulations Margarette Bryan for winning this.

Our engaging stand was attractive to many. On the day, we were busy networking to build new relationships with employers and we look forward to working with them going forward.

Alongside our team members was S4 pupil, Sophie, from Doon Academy who done a weeks work experience with us. Sophie assisted both the Chamber and ourselves with tasks during the event, planning and setting up our stand and was able to speak to some businesses about their career opportunities. Thank you Sophie for your hard work and support and thank you Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce for a great event allowing us to form new partnerships, we look forward to next year already.

Teachers and pupils from Lockhart Campus joined us at the exhibition with a stand that showcased their skills and talents in regards to items they’ve created through their school projects funded by DYW Ayrshire. These projects are essentially small businesses within a school and by providing funding, we are allowing young people to gain skills in particular sectors e.g., horticulture and beekeeping that can be transferred to future employment. Pupils also learn additional skills including team working, communication, budgeting, planning, problem solving and much more. On the day, the teachers were able to network with businesses and encourage support and the pupils made sales on the products they made including honey, soap, candles, lip balms, bird houses, garden decorations and more. The pupils were able to talk employers through the processes of creating some of their products and show off the hard work they’ve done. All money made from sales is put back into the projects and we look forward to seeing what’s created next.

We are delighted by the support both stands received on the day of the event and would like to thank businesses again for their time and support on the day.