News Archives - Page 10 of 68 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

When a college and local business share a common goal, they can build a special working relationship that achieves exceptional results. The close partnership between AkzoNobel and Northumberland College has developed a whole-college approach to high quality careers guidance and a successful pathway into local employment.

A global manufacturer of paints and coatings, AkzoNobel opened a new factory in Ashington five years ago. Despite its international profile, the company recognised its responsibility to tackle the local challenge of long-term high unemployment in rural Northumberland. It identified a strategic objective to enhance careers education and ensure a future local workforce.

The North East LEP played a key role in establishing and cultivating the partnership between AkzoNobel and Northumberland College. Enterprise Co-ordinator Lucy Johnson laid the groundwork with an understanding of the needs and ambitions of both organisations. This ensured a positive and sustained match. The LEP facilitated discussions, fostering a mutual understanding of each other’s agendas, terminology and organisational structures. All sides recognised the immense benefits of a whole-college approach, with the full support of Vice Principal Vikkie Morton and with AkzoNobel joining the board of governors.

This unique partnership gave Director of Student Services Ruth Magnus and AkzoNobel Enterprise Adviser Alex Wardle the autonomy and scope to deliver an ambitious strategic careers plan. Ruth introduced Alex to the college’s relevant curriculum departments and student communities. A whole-college approach, says Ruth, provides learners with the best guidance and employer encounters, “from their first course of study through to their next steps into employment, apprenticeships or higher education.”

Working closely with Curriculum Director Robert Stewart, they identified areas where AkzoNobel could make positive interventions. For example, AkzoNobel used its industry knowledge, technical expertise and focus on lean techniques to introduce practical problem solving methodologies and theories on personality types into pastoral lessons.

Alex is an enthusiastic and engaged Enterprise Adviser who has devoted time to thoroughly understand how the college works. This dedication has given AkzoNobel insight into how they can best add value in preparing students for the world of work. “The right frame of mind is key”, says Alex. Students need to be encouraged to start thinking early about their career progression and to understand the behaviours and attributes employers are looking for.

The college is piloting a Reward and Recognition Scheme to emphasise employability skills. Over the year, AkzoNobel will run three masterclasses for Engineering and Construction students. The college will award students with a certificate based on their attendance and progression, as well as volunteering in the community. This certificate will be recognised by AkzoNobel and guarantee them an interview, demonstrating their readiness for the world of work.

Alex expects this scheme to expand into other curriculum areas, and Ruth would like to see it replicated across the Education Partnership North East, building similar relationships between Sunderland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form and local employers.

AkzoNobel also supports the college with workshops, one-to-one sessions and mock interviews, as well as site visits and work experience placements. Last month, Northumberland College held a successful career fair for National Careers Week, where students learned more about opportunities with AkzoNobel and other local employers.

Alex is a driving force in the expanding and deepening cooperation between the college and local business. She has been instrumental in bringing more employers and colleges together through her work with the Enterprise Adviser Network. By working collaboratively across colleges, this group of advisers has been able to share and promote best practice.

AkzoNobel now has former college students working at its Ashington site and sees more leavers applying. The partnership also contributes to job satisfaction and wellbeing at AkzoNobel. “Going into college and delivering a masterclass is not part of the normal job,” explains Alex, but it has led to greater engagement in the team. For example, when a new operator came for an interview, he remembered the site manager from a college visit. “It’s lovely for the employees to know they can have an impact, even if it is a couple of years down the line.”

Ruth reports significant improvement in soft skills at the college, including attendance. In addition, students have a more positive attitude on campus and are more engaged with their studies. This strong performance has followed through into work experience, with fewer placements breaking down due to attendance or attitude. Employer feedback also shows greater satisfaction with students.

“Education feeds industry”, says Alex, and “it’s absolutely the right thing for business to support the college and in the past, we have let that relationship drift apart.” Ruth agrees: “Our courses need scrutiny from business to keep them relevant and up-to-date.” This engagement is essential to ensure students have the values and skills for a successful career. “It is necessary,” says Alex, “if businesses want to be sustainable, with a future ready workforce. It is the only answer.”

Find our more about the North East LEP’s Enterprise Adviser Network, and how your business can support careers education in the region.

There is no doubt that recent statistics have been challenging across the economy.

Trade statistics have been volatile as we have seen the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and new controls on exports to Europe, and more recently the impact of the war in Ukraine.

Last year, partners in the North East published the North East Trade and Export Strategy with the aim of making trade a key part of our recovery. The North East LEP’s Director of Policy and Strategy, Richard Baker, explains more.

Every month UK Trade Info releases data on goods exports from each region of England. Recent releases have showed the impact of the pandemic and new trade regulations, with total exports from the North East region (which covers both the North East LEP area and Tees Valley) falling in each of the first three quarters of 2021. The good news is that the latest release has seen a turnaround with a growth of 5% in quarter 4.

We’re not alone in this – many regions of England have seen fluctuating figures. We can expect more volatility as the impact of the war in Ukraine impacts trade and increases costs.

Beneath the headline figures though are some positive stories on which to build, with growth in exports of pharmaceuticals and energy related products. And there are signs of recovery in road vehicle exports, although these remain lower than two years ago and there is also evidence of strengthening service exports from the region.

The North East Trade and Export Strategy

When the North East LEP, Chamber of Commerce and Department for International Trade developed the North East Trade and Export strategy last year, we carried out a consultation with hundreds of businesses and sector bodies. We knew that people were finding things tough, with changes to the trading and regulatory environment compounded by COVID-19.

Addressing this effectively is crucial. It is estimated that exporting supports over 165,000 jobs in the region and evidence clearly shows that businesses that trade internationally are more competitive, faster-growing and more successful. Building trade is therefore central to our recovery as a region. That’s what we want for businesses in the North East, and we’ll continue to work together to make sure North East businesses benefit from global markets.

Working together

The North East Trade and Export Strategy identifies our exporting strengths as a region and identifies key markets around the world where there is demand for our products and services. It identified ways to bring the sponsor organisations together to put their resources behind work into these key sectors and markets – and this is illustrative of the way we are continuing to work together looking forward.

Within the region, the North East LEP and the DIT team based at the Chamber of Commerce are working hard and collaborating to provide support to individual businesses. Alongside the free advice and support from DIT’s International Trade Advisers, examples of direct support to businesses include forthcoming trade missions to Ireland, Portugal and the USA. The ongoing Export Academy programme is also helping local companies take their first steps in exporting. Alongside this, over £1m of grants has been awarded to local companies from the DIT Internationalisation Fund to help them promote their products and services to overseas markets. This is helping North East businesses internationalise their websites and marketing materials, travel to overseas markets, exhibit at international trade fairs and get external expertise to help them with their exporting activity.

The North East Growth Hub continues to provide a point of information about trade activities in the region, including forthcoming events, training and trade missions being organised by the DIT.

As the DIT team at the Chamber is absorbed into the Department for International Trade following the publication of the UK Trade Strategy, we will work together to offer a more joined up service in the region and strengthen the focus of events and networking to promote exporting.

Nationally, the clear proposition in our strategy, and our partnership around its development, has been able to create regular opportunities to discuss with government what’s needed in the North East and show what our businesses have to offer international markets.

In the last few weeks alone we’ve met with the Secretary of State for International Trade, and with the DIT team, delegates from central America, and the Kuwaiti Ambassador – all opportunities to speak about our approach and develop new relationships for our region.

Changes to the international trading landscape

Clearly, the international trading landscape has changed for the UK and we are working to make sure that the North East is not only positioned to take advantage of new Free Trade Agreements and growing markets in North America, Asia and the Gulf states, but that we are also supporting North East businesses to continue their trade with Europe.

And as FTA’s are developed, we are working together with partners in the region to try to shape them. Recently we made a joint submission to the DIT about the priorities the North East would like to see in the forthcoming trade deal with the Gulf Co-operation Council. We will do the same for future trade deals looking next at the deal with Canada.

As deals are signed, we’ll be providing the support businesses need during this transition to a new international environment and making sure we’re proactive in grasping opportunities.

Keeping North East businesses updated

Over the coming weeks and months you will hear from teams at the North East LEP and the DIT with more updates about the latest trade data and the range of work that is going on to help North East businesses trade strongly.

Whilst we can expect there to be continuing challenges in the data, we will be working hard to provide support to businesses in the region and take the opportunities we can see in the future.

Support and information on international trade is available on the North East Growth Hub: www.northeastgrowthhub.co.uk.

The North East Trade and Export Strategy is available at North East Trade and Export strategy

Businesses across Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside have been asked to rise to the Challenge and help the region tackle some of the biggest problems facing our economy and community.

A new £800,000 open innovation project has been launched at the region’s longest running Innovation Conference, VentureFest North East. The project is funded through the North of Tyne Combined Authority’s Investment Fund and delivered by the North East LEP in partnership with Innovation SuperNetwork.

Aimed at providing a gateway for the region’s small and medium-sized businesses to solve the problems facing bigger companies and society as a whole, Challenge North Tyne seeks to generate innovative responses to problems in three key areas. It builds on the North East LEP’s work with Challenge North East, which helped bring about solutions in the face of Covid-19.

Alan Welby, Innovation Director at the North East LEP, said: “People often think innovation is something only big businesses can do, but that’s simply not the case. Our region’s SME community is constantly creating new ways of doing things, of problem solving and we want to harness that creativity to tackle some of the greatest challenges facing the growth of our economy.

“We’re seeking new and innovative ways to address the climate change emergency, and reduce the carbon footprint of our buildings and workplaces. We also want to work with SMEs to explore how we can embed 5G within all areas of our economy and harness the opportunities it provides for increased productivity and connectivity. And we also want to look at how we can help the older population across North of Tyne live longer, happier and healthier lives.

“Innovation has a huge role to play in solving societal issues and our businesses have the entrepreneurial nature and collaborative spirit to respond to the challenge – something which was clearly demonstrated during the first phase of our Challenge North East project.”

Challenge North Tyne was launched as part of VentureFest North East’s online programme on Thursday 31 March, bringing together a successful collaboration to demonstrate the benefits of small and large enterprises coming together to innovate.

Dr Jackie Gray took part in the discussion after she stepped up to the challenge with The Carents Room in response to a call from Northern Gas Networks (NGN). As a support platform for individuals caring for elderly relatives, The Carents Room and NGN were able to explore innovative new solutions to help NGN better respond to the needs of vulnerable customers, as part of Challenge North East last year.

Speaking of the experience, Jackie said: “Collaborating with NGN on their work through Challenge North East has been a real catalyst for The Carents Room. It has enabled us to scale-up by helping us focus on the market for our innovation and develop key relationships, not just with NGN but also their national energy network partners, including Cadent Gas. I’d encourage other entrepreneurs, innovators and businesses who could have the skills, experience or ideas to help solve these problems, to get involved. You won’t regret it and could gain a lot in return!”

Sarah Cox, Innovation Challenge Programme Director at Innovation SuperNetwork, said: “Globally, nationally and regionally, we’re faced with increasingly complex problems. Mission-led innovation helps us to focus on the challenges we face as a society, and where we have the potential to have the biggest positive impact. Our aim is to bring the right people together to help drive change.

“This programme is designed to build on what we achieved through Challenge North East to scope three more challenges where solutions could have real impact regionally. We’re urging any businesses who feel they could help shape these problems, or would like to get involved with developing solutions, to register their interest.”

The project is exploring three themes in the Challenge development stage, these are:

Building a Sustainable Future – How might we reduce the carbon footprint of buildings in North of Tyne?
Supporting our Ageing Population – How might we better enable healthy, happy living for our elder citizens?
5G Connectivity – How might we deliver 5G enabled solutions for North East Industry?

In phase one, the programme will be shaping the challenges in collaboration with business, with grants made available for solution development in phase two.

Businesses can register their interest by emailing hello@supernetwork.org.uk

The North East LEP has recently begun a collaborative project with Newcastle University called Realising North East Ambition. Here, Dr Louise Kempton at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies and LEP Enterprise and Education Lead Kim Smith talk about this important new research.

How did this project come about?

Louise: Ensuring our research has impact beyond the University is fundamental to the work we do at the Centre for Urban and Regional Development. We developed this project in collaboration with the LEP to design research that can directly benefit policy interventions in the North East.

In recognition of the value of this collaboration, the University and the LEP secured funding from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The research council’s Local Acceleration Fund (LAF) aims to strengthen policy makers’ access to research, data and academic expertise.

Kim: The LEP is always looking for ways to develop a robust and practical evidence base to develop our programming.

Our North East Ambition programme brings educators and businesses together to support young people with the careers guidance they need to succeed in the labour market. This improves the supply of a skilled workforce, ready and prepared for the world of work, ensuring that the North East has a pipeline of talented employees.

So we are excited to be collaborating with Newcastle University to deepen our evidence base and assess what works in careers intervention.

What is the main aim of the research?

Louise: Realising North East Ambition will study the barriers and drivers for young people’s employment and career progression. It will combine innovative social science with the LEP’s extensive local knowledge to provide new insights into the career destinations of young people and the policy design needed to drive positive change.

Kim: Working together will allow the project team to carry out new research on the formation and initiation of career pathways of young people. We will talk to colleges, schools and students, as well as charities and other voluntary organisations supporting young people’s employment and career progression in the sector.

What will the research involve?

Kim: We know the importance of excellent career advice and guidance, including high-quality work experience, knowledge of the labour market and understanding routes into work. But we still have so much to learn about how to design the best programmes to support our young people.

Louise: The team will study the journey from college student’s initial aspirations and careers guidance through to choices, training and destination. This will help us understand the barriers preventing young people from securing and retaining better jobs. It will also allow us to identify the drivers that promote a pipeline to skilled jobs with good career progressions.

Our research will delve into what works in careers education and guidance. It will go beyond formal barriers to examine the informal influence of parents, teachers, peers and role models. It will allow future interventions to focus on the most important factors affecting young people’s career choices .

And what outcomes can we expect to see from the research?

Louise: Over the next few months, the team will hold several events, workshops and roundtables with employers, educators and young people. Information about these events will be shared on our twitter account and across social media.

Our research will bring together regional partners to share data and analysis. It will deepen collaboration between Newcastle University, the North East LEP and its partners. And it will build a productive relationship and enhance a community of practice, based around local intelligence and high-quality academic research.

Kim: A full report will be published this summer, including co-produced policy recommendations that will be actionable for colleges. It will provide the North East LEP and its partners with critical insights to inform both current programmes and future interventions. This will contribute to North East Ambition’s goal to deliver outstanding and tailored careers guidance so each and every young person in the region can realise their ambitions.

Peer Networks bring business owners and leaders together to learn with and from peers experiencing similar challenges. The North East LEP has helped 241 companies join 21 cohort across different sectors. The LEP’s Digital Sector Lead Craig Harrison was keen to see how this programme could benefit the digital community in the region.

The government developed this scheme as part of its Covid-19 recovery plan. It aims to support business growth by helping peers learn from each other. Business leaders attended 18 hours of Action Learning Sets (ALS), cohort sessions. with the specific intention of solving current workplace challenges. The main aims of an ALS are to provide a confidential space to develop skills and strategies and come away with a set of realistic actions for the workplace. Some of the key topics that arose for digital companies were business growth, recruitment and training, and hybrid working.

Initially, Craig was unsure whether key operators working in this demanding and competitive sector would be prepared to commit to so much time away from the day-to-day running of their business. “It was a big ask,” says Craig, but in the end there was an amazing level of engagement from the ten enrolled leaders, with “excellent turnout, participation and involvement.”

Ian Proctor from Digital Edge was enthusiastic. “Where else do you get the opportunity to pick the brains of company leaders who have been there and done it?” Digital Edge is a website design company, recently created from the merger of Durham-based Pixel Media and Infuze Group in Gloucestershire. Ian’s team has grown from two to nine people in the last year, providing online solutions for international clients using the Wix platform. With their sights on further expansion, Ian says “we had nothing to lose” from joining the digital cohort.

With 45 members on their team, ITC Service was the largest business involved in the cohort. They provide client-centred IT support to over 450 businesses across the region, nationally and internationally. Kate Anderson manages human resources and joined the digital cohort looking for “an honest conversation about how the business landscape has changed in the last two years.”

Lockdowns and remote working have created immense demand for Kate’s business. In reality, this meant working “flat out on survival mode” for two years. However, social media only showed business successes and achievements. Where was the struggle? “It was reassuring,” says Kate on joining the digital cohort. “Straight away, you could see everyone was in the same boat.”

It was essential, says Craig, that the atmosphere in the room was supportive and non-judgemental. “You rarely have success without experiencing some level of failure or setback, and this is quite often the way we learn and adapt, so it was interesting to get people talking about tough times and offering their unique perspectives on common issues.” Members of the cohort felt able to let off steam and voice frustrations in the confidential space of the session.

A shared challenge identified by the cohort was recruitment. The growing demand for digital services creates challenges for small businesses in securing talent. The cohort shared experiences of remote working, apprenticeships and graduate programmes. It can be easy, says Kate, to think “we haven’t done it before and it is not what we do.” But the group discussion inspired them to think differently.

“It changed my mind and shined a light on doing things in a different way,” says Ian. “When you have been living and breathing the business for the last 15 years, you get attached to ideas. You need someone to come at it from zero with an outside perspective.”

Each week, two leaders presented a specific and current challenge they were facing and the group asked questions, shared experience and offered solutions. “There were really practical and extensive ideas coming from the group,” says Ian, with five or six solutions to every problem, “and often a curve-ball you’d never even thought of.”

At the end of the day, says Kate, “If you can implement one thing or make one decision coming out of it, then it has been worth it.” Immersed in the company’s day-to-day running, it was an invaluable opportunity to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

It was an intense six weeks that the group were sad to finish. “There needs to be more collaboration in IT and digital,” says Kate. “With more forums like this.” But the journey doesn’t end here, assures Craig. Each participant is taking advantage of one-to-one sessions with Craig to help them navigate the support available in the North East LEP area. Where appropriate this can include connecting with an experienced and successful mentor to take their business to the next level. The group plan to keep in touch online and offline and members are already discussing ways they can collaborate in the future to grow their business.

Pictured: Craig Harrison.

Port of Tyne to demonstrate blueprint for decarbonisation of UK ports

The Port of Tyne will unveil a new sustainable smart port platform that will provide a blueprint for its transition to net zero at an event held at its Maritime 2050 Innovation Hub on Wednesday 6 April.

As part of the Clean Tyne Project, the Port of Tyne and Siemens have worked with Connected Places Catapult, Newcastle University and the North East LEP to deploy a real-time digital platform for scenario planning and feasibility studies that will help determine the future power needs of the Port. Understanding its current and forecast power usage as well as its infrastructure opportunities will enable the Port to define its path to decarbonisation – and ultimately achieve its vision of becoming a net-zero port by 2050, part of the Port’s overall Tyne 2050 strategy for growth.

The Clean Tyne project was granted funding by the Department of Transport to create a blueprint for the decarbonisation of the UK’s ports. The project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, which sees £30m in total invested in a number of initiatives to reduce emissions from the maritime sector.

The project consortium has built on its extensive technical expertise, academic research and wider industry knowledge to integrate multi-vector renewable energy information into the purpose-built digital port platform. This allows the partners to determine which renewable energy implementations will offer the greatest benefits to the Port and what capacity it will need from the grid going forward ensuring the optimisation and resilience of clean energy supplies for shore power, land-based infrastructure and other use cases.

By using this form of planning, the Port of Tyne can evaluate the benefits of introducing new technology solutions before implementing them, thus minimising risk. The planning will focus on multiple areas including optimised operations, grid compliance and flexibility, enhanced communications using 5G, the electrification of shipping and logistics, the reduction or avoidance of fossil fuels and the development of new digital skills.

Testbed for other UK ports

The digital platform will play a fundamental role throughout the Port’s decarbonisation journey by supporting the creation of business cases, budget planning and investment cases. It will also allow the project consortium to assess the technical, environmental and economic impact of the Port. Using the Port of Tyne as a testbed, the Clean Tyne project’s digital energy platform has enabled Siemens and its partners to develop a universal blueprint for decarbonisation that can be replicated in other port environments as well as other industries.

The event on 6 April will be held in-person and online. To register to attend the event, visit Port of Tyne – Clean Tyne Project | Eventbrite

Quotes from the project partners

“The success of the Clean Tyne project is testament to the expertise, research and collaboration of the consortium. The project outputs show real benefits to decarbonisation efforts across the UK Port Sector and will be the backbone for future developments in that space. This tool will be pivotal for the Port of Tyne to achieve its ambitious decarbonisation and environmental targets, and we are already exploring how we can expand the benefits further. Using the 2050 Innovation Hub at the Port of Tyne, the first of its kind aligned to Maritime 2050, has given us the perfect platform to demonstrate and disseminate the learnings and outputs with all ports in the UK.” Ian Blake, Head of Innovation and Technology at the Port of Tyne

“There are hundreds of ports across world, all burning a lot of diesel and impacting the environment. Through the Clean Tyne project with the Port of Tyne we have been able to undertake an advanced feasibility study and to create a dependable and scalable roadmap for the decarbonisation of ports worldwide.” Ian Lloyd, Head of Microgrid Solutions, Siemens

“This project is a great example of how digital technologies can be applied to drive decarbonisation of our regional infrastructure. North East LEP via the North East Energy Catalyst will work to share the results of the project and help other ports and industries learn from the findings in the Clean Tyne project.” David Lynch, Energy Innovation Partnerships Manager – North East LEP

“Through the Clean Tyne project, we have been able to apply novel concepts of digitalisation in real-world energy systems to help identify solutions for ports that cut across energy systems, marine transport, and data – all helping reduce carbon emissions. We are excited to have the opportunity to present the findings to the wider maritime community.” Dr Haris Patsios, Senior Lecturer in Power Systems, Newcastle University

“Ports are critical stakeholders in the future clean energy transition at sea and on land. Access to and supporting renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and tidal so ports become energy hubs across multiple modes of transport; is vital if we are to accelerate our journey to net zero. This has been an exciting project that demonstrated how digital infrastructure helps make greener ports possible. The Port of Tyne now has a set of clear next steps and we have invaluable transferable insight for ports across the UK.” Paul Wilson, Chief Business Officer, Connected Places Catapult

Ends.

Notes to editors

The Clean Tyne – UK Blueprint for Decarbonisation project is part of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition, funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.

Announced in March 2020, and part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan to position the UK at the forefront of green shipbuilding and maritime technology, the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition is a £20m investment from government alongside a further c.£10mfrom industry to reduce emissions from the maritime sector. The programme is supporting 55 projects across the UK, including projects in Scotland, Northern Ireland and from the South West to the North East of England. As set out in the Clean Maritime Plan (2019), Government funding has been used to support early-stage research relating to clean maritime. The programme will be used to support the research, design and development of zero emission technology and infrastructure solutions for maritime and to accelerate decarbonisation in the sector.

About the consortium partners

Port of Tyne is one of the UK’s major deep-sea ports – operating in bulk and conventional cargo, car terminals, cruise & ferry, port centric logistics and estates. Overall, the Port of Tyne enables £557 million to be added to the North East economy, supporting 9,300 jobs directly and indirectly. The Port’s cruise and ferry business adds another £57 million to the local economy and 1,600 jobs.

Port of Tyne was recently awarded two Maritime UK 2020 Clean Energy Awards for Clean Energy Operator and Clean Energy Enabler.

One of the UK’s largest trust ports and entirely self-financing, the Port receives no Government funding, is run on a commercial basis and reinvests all profits back into the Port for the benefit of all of its stakeholders.

As one of only two deep sea ports in the North East of England, 83% of the world’s largest cargo ships can be accommodated at the Port of Tyne.

During a decade of development, the Port of Tyne has invested over £130 million in diversifying its operations to handle a growing range of commodities.

Siemens Smart Infrastructure (SI) is shaping the market for intelligent, adaptive infrastructure for today and the future. It addresses the pressing challenges of urbanization and climate change by connecting energy systems, buildings and industries. SI provides customers with a comprehensive end-to-end portfolio from a single source – with products, systems, solutions and services from the point of power generation all the way to consumption. With an increasingly digitalized ecosystem, it helps customers thrive and communities progress while contributing toward protecting the planet. SI creates environments that care. Siemens Smart Infrastructure has its global headquarters in Zug, Switzerland, and has around 71,000 employees worldwide.

Connected Places Catapult is the UK’s innovation accelerator for cities, transport, and places. We provide impartial ‘innovation as a service’ for public bodies, businesses, and infrastructure providers to catalyse step-change improvements in the way people live, work and travel. We connect businesses and public sector leaders to cutting-edge research to spark innovation and grow new markets. We run technology demonstrators and SME accelerators to scale new solutions that drive growth, spread prosperity, and eliminate carbon.

Newcastle University, UK, is a thriving international community of some 27,750 students from over 130 countries worldwide.

As a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities in the UK, Newcastle has a world-class reputation for research excellence in the fields of medicine, science and engineering, social sciences and the humanities.

Its academics are sharply focused on responding to the major challenges facing society today. Our research and teaching are world-leading in areas as diverse as health, culture, technology and the environment.

The Research Excellence Framework 2014 (REF) placed Newcastle University 16th in the UK for Research Power and the vast majority of our research (78%) was assessed to be world-leading or internationally excellent.

Newcastle University is committed to providing our students with excellent, research-led teaching delivered by dedicated and passionate teachers. This is reaffirmed by achieving the best possible outcome – a Gold Award – in the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF).

Newcastle is placed joint 146th in the world and in the top 20 in the UK in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) is a public, private and education sector partnership. We are one of thirty-eight LEPs in the country and are responsible for promoting and developing economic growth in the local authority areas of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland. We produce our area’s Strategic Economic Plan, which acts as a blueprint for the activities that need to take place to improve our economy.

“Against a very challenging backdrop of rising costs for people and businesses, and declining growth rates and living standards, Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcements will help relieve some of the pressure in areas like fuel prices and employee costs, and local authorities will have more money to help vulnerable people. He also announced spending to support small businesses with employment costs and business rates, which we welcome.

“However some of the big investments which could have accelerated growth in the North East will await the Budget. We also expect to see more detail on regional policy issues, including detail on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, later in the year.

“We look forward to learning more about the planned consultation on areas including skills support, the apprenticeships levy, innovation performance and capital allowances for investment. These are important areas for focus if we are to see sustained long term growth.”

Richard Baker, Strategy and Policy Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Victoria Sutherland, Head of Evidence at the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth, was one of the keynote speakers at the launch of National Careers Week 2022. Here, she gives an insight into how labour market information can inform careers guidance for children and young people.

One of What Works Growth’s main aims is to help policymakers understand the evidence on what works in local economic growth. We believe good evidence is essential to good decision-making. This principle isn’t unique to local economic growth – what works centres in other policy areas such as education, crime, health and wellbeing fulfil a similar role – and it is also true for the decisions we make as individuals.

Why is labour market intelligence important?

One of the most important decisions is about the careers we wish to pursue. This raises an interesting question about what information individuals use to make these career decisions.

All of us have information about the labour market. For example, we know what jobs family members, friends and those in our wider communities do and people tell us stories about those jobs – good and bad! We also encounter different types of jobs through TV, films, games, print and social media.

Unfortunately, the labour market is diverse and complex – so relying on just the experience of those close to you or what is portrayed in the media gives a partial view of the careers available, what they involve, and how to access them.

This is why labour market intelligence (LMI) – the provision of data on the labour market – is so important. LMI helps make sense of the labour market so we can make better decisions about our careers. And as key career decisions are made when we are young it’s particularly important to expose young people to this kind of information.

How can we make best use of labour market intelligence?

Last week was National Careers Week and one of the most inspiring parts of Monday’s launch event was hearing young people talking about what they learnt from LMI. None of them recited statistics about sectoral shares or pay – but it was clear they better understood their options, and how these aligned with their interests and preferences. LMI also seemed to have given them a degree of confidence about their future.

This is because LMI can open-up the conversations we have with young people about the labour market. For example, a discussion about which sectors employ the most people can be used to explore key concepts (what is the difference between a sector and an occupation), illustrate the breadth of jobs available in that sector, and discuss how jobs will change over time.

Once young people have this broader understanding, they can return to the data to help them choose between careers and find the best route into their chosen option.

Improving LMI and the evidence on what works

It’s important that we continue to improve LMI. The labour market is constantly changing, and new data sources and ways of presenting information emerging. National Careers Week provides an important opportunity for careers leaders to stay on top of what’s available and to share their experiences of using LMI.

As a what works centre, we also think it’s important that we develop our understanding of ‘what works’ in LMI. The Education Endowment Foundation looked at the evidence on careers education in 2016 and two-thirds of the studies they reviewed found careers education had positive impacts on economic outcomes such as wages. However, very few studies looked at the impact of LMI.

There will be more and less effective ways to communicate LMI to young people, and it would be good to test this through trials. What Works Growth doesn’t work in schools, but if you are involved in post-16 careers provision and you have an idea you would like to test, we could potentially offer support. Please get in touch with the What Works Growth team if you have an idea you would like to discuss.

You can find information and resources on labour market information on the North East Ambition website. Take a look.

Today’s statistics cover the North East region, which includes the North East LEP area and Tees Valley Combined Authority area. The headline rates cover the period November 2021 to January 2022.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Chief Executive, Helen Golightly OBE, has commented on today’s regional labour market statistics, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

“This month’s figures suggest we are seeing tentative signs of improvement compared with figures from the last quarter, with the number of people in employment increasing by over 7,000.

“There have also been a number of people who have moved from being economically inactive, where they are not looking for work, to economically active, where they are making themselves available for work.

“However, we should remain cautious and vigilant about these figures. Today’s statistics also shows that our labour market continues to face long term challenges with the highest unemployment rate, the highest percentage of people who have left the labour market and the lowest rate of people in work in England – whilst other regions are moving ahead as they recover from COVID-19.

“Other data shows there is an opportunity to do more. Employers are reporting continuing demand in the labour market and difficulties in recruitment, and yesterday’s over 50s lifestyle study suggests that further encouragement for older workers who have left the labour market since the start of the pandemic could see them return.

“There are now 18,000 more 50 to 64 year olds who are classified as economically inactive in the North East region compared to before COVID-19. 39% of over 50s who have left the labour market nationally would consider returning to work, including 58% of 50-59 year olds, but they would need the right conditions and support to do so.

“At a time when the costs on families from general inflation and energy price rises are increasing rapidly, we urge government to strongly and urgently focus on the needs of the North East to encourage more progress in the labour market.”

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