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End of an Era as Peter Steps Down
 After nearly a quarter of a century helping young people to find the right road in life, Peter Renshaw has decided to take a new turn of his own.
The man who is currently chief executive of Connexions Somerset – the county wide young people’s advisory service – is retiring at the end of March.
And today, as he contemplated almost a lifetime working with young people, the former teacher said: “We have much to be proud of about today’s youth – the problem is all too often we hear about the bad things.”
Peter, who is 58 and married with two daughters, moved to Somerset in 1984 as a senior careers officer. Before that he had worked for Devon Careers Service and as a teacher at Sidmouth Secondary School in Devon.
He has been promoted through posts of Education/Industry Development Officer, County Careers Officer and Managing Director to his current position as Chief Executive of Connexions Somerset.
He feels proud of what the organisation has achieved – as a county Somerset has consistently had one of the highest rates of young people in employment, education and training in the country. Its last Oftsed inspection rated the organisation as good and it has been awarded Investor in People Status four times in succession.
“A lot of that I feel has been down to successful partnership working. In Somerset I have always likened those partnerships to a marriage – you have the odd tiff with your partner but at the end of the day you realise that you have a common purpose! In our case that has been working for the benefit of young people in our county.”
Talking about the many changes in the world of education and training over the years, Mr Renshaw said he felt there was a need now for stability.
“People have seen so many changes over the years, from GCSEs to AS levels to Diplomas, and I think what everyone is looking for now is stability.”
He spoke of the need for employers to continue to take an active role in the training and development of their staff.
He added: “All of us have to play a part in developing the workforce of tomorrow and employers need to take their responsibilities seriously. Training must be seen as an investment, not a cost.”
In recent years Peter Renshaw has earned the nickname “judging junkie”, from the number of young people’s award projects he takes part in.
“I’ll have to accept that one,” he said. “I do like to get involved in anything that celebrates the achievements of our young people.”
And he’s hoping that even in retirement that role will continue.
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