Skills Archives - Page 26 of 28 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Here at the North East LEP we recognise the value and importance of apprenticeships in helping to deliver more and better jobs for the North East.

It’s a core part of our Economic Plan and something we feel will help drive economic growth and improve skills within the LEP area.

The North East LEP is sponsoring next week’s North East Apprenticeship Awards, which take place at the Discovery Museum, Newcastle, on Thursday 15 October.

Part of the National Apprenticeship Awards, the North East ceremony will recognise and celebrate excellence in businesses that grow their own talent through apprenticeships and the apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces.

Now in its 12th year, the North East Apprenticeship Awards is an opportunity for businesses in the LEP areas to showcase the benefits gained from an ongoing commitment to apprenticeships. It also puts apprentices themselves in the spotlight by recognising the impact they have on their place of work.

Winners at the North East Apprenticeship Awards will go on to the National Awards and the opportunity to compete as a National Apprenticeship Employer of the Year finalist. The national awards take place on 26 January 2016 at Grosvenor House, London.

Categories at this year’s North East Apprenticeship Awards include Newcomer SME Employer of the Year, Large Employer of the Year, Intermediate Apprentice of the Year and Apprenticeship Champion of the Year. Nominated businesses and apprentices have fought off competition from thousands of other entrants to reach the regional final.

Follow our twitter account @northeastlep this week to see who from the North East is in the running at this year’s Awards. We’ll be live tweeting on the night too.

For more information about the National Apprenticeship Awards, visit www.apprenticeawards.co.uk or follow the hashtag #NAA15 on twitter.

Communities across Tyne and Wear are set to benefit from nearly £5 million of funding after the Big Lottery Fund and EU have joined forces.

The Big Lottery Fund is matching funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-2020 to provide joint investment in 61 local projects tackling poverty, promoting social inclusion and boosting local economies.

Projects will provide learning and training opportunities for people to increase their confidence and learn new skills that will put them on the path to employment. Projects are designed to help people to overcome a huge range of challenges in their lives and communities. For example, projects will provide specialist support to people living in a rural, isolated area, people who are homeless, have mental health issues, are living with a disability or overcoming addiction issues.

The Big Lottery Fund is working with local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) and their decision-making committees across England who have identified projects that best meet local need and priorities. From today organisations will be able to apply for funding to deliver these projects, including voluntary, community and social enterprise groups, who have historically found it hard to apply for and manage EU funding.

Dawn Austwick, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund said: “Working with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, these projects will enable people to overcome challenges and improve their long-term job prospects. This valuable partnership will create new opportunities for groups to focus on issues specific to their local communities.”

The 61 projects announced today across England with a total of more than £132.6 million available, represent the second round of this funding and involve 18 LEP areas. This takes the total number of LEP areas with projects to 38. Each LEP has identified the issues challenging their communities and the opportunity that funding can bring to address them.

Projects open for applications today include a project in the North East LEP area covering Tyne and Wear which aims to support people furthest from the labour market experiencing significant physical and mental health barriers into work. The project recognises the number of people who are unemployed due to ill health is relatively high in this area. Tailored support will be provided for each individual, assessing their complex needs and helping them overcome the main barriers to employment.

Potential applicants with questions about the stage one application process should view the FAQs available here: https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/bbofaq. The closing date for applications is 12 noon 30 November 2015.

A small number of further funding opportunities are expected in early 2016. To be kept informed on the latest Building Better Opportunities news register your interest on our website at www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/esf.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) welcomes today’s announcement (October 1) by the Government that the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is increasing, including for apprentices.

It is the minimum pay per hour that almost all workers are entitled to by law and varies by age and whether they are an apprentice.

The new rates of pay are:

• £6.70 for those aged 21 and over

• £5.30 for 18-20 year olds

• £3.87 for under 18s

• £3.30 for all apprentices in their first year. If apprentices are aged 19+, second year pay should be in-line with the NMW rates for their age group (£5.30 if they are aged 19 or 20, £6.70 if they are 21+).

The biggest increase is for apprentices in their first year, whose rate has risen from £2.73 in 2014 to £3.30. I’m delighted to see the Government recognising the importance of apprenticeships. This higher rate of entry pay will hopefully encourage more young people to consider an apprenticeship, helping us to create the next generation of skilled workers here in the North East.

While the increased NMW rates are positive news for staff, apprentices, and of course the North East economy, it’s also important that employers know their responsibilities under the law. It’s illegal for businesses not to pay someone the NMW or to falsify payment records. We want to ensure that everyone entitled to NMW receives it and that employers know their rights, obligations and the consequences of not paying NMW.

Whether you are a small business with two employees or a multinational corporation employing thousands of people, it’s your obligation to make sure all staff are paid correctly at the new rates.

Employers that don’t abide by the rules could be fined up to £20,000 for each worker not paid at the correct rate, and they will also be required to pay any arrears immediately. Plus, they will be publicly named and shamed.

Staff can check they are being paid fairly via the NMW calculator at http://bit.ly/NMWOnlineCalculator, where you can also find out if you are owed arrears in pay from previous years.

If you are being paid less than the National Minimum Wage, talk to your employer if you are comfortable doing so. Otherwise, you can phone the confidential Acas helpline on 0300 123 1100 and a team member will support you in securing the money you are owed.

Employers can also use the Acas telephone or online helpline at http://bit.ly/AcasHelpline if they need any support to correct any issues. There are also further tools and information for employers at the Government’s NMW website at http://bit.ly/TheNationalMinimumWage.

Workers can check whether they are eligible for the NMW at the Government website https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage/who-gets-the-minimum-wage.

By North East LEP chairman, Paul Woolston.

As former Senior Partner at Price Waterhouse Cooper (PwC), Paul’s expertise is in the public sector, and he continues to be closely involved with the business community and government, in the North East, nationally and internationally.

The North East LEP, Schools North East and Gatsby Charitable Foundation are working together on a pilot, funded by Gatsby that has launched in the North East called Good Career Guidance benchmarks.

Gatsby is a foundation set up by David Sainsbury to realise his charitable objectives and a significant part of Gatsby’s work focusses on the technician workforce; promotion, registration, vocational pathways etc. The aim is to raise greater awareness of the importance of the technician workforce and the diversity of their roles.

Gatsby is hoping to visit a range of employers to meet with them and their technicians and gather a pool of case studies, with the possibility of showcasing these employers and individuals as exemplars of talent and innovation in their field. This would initially involve taking some photographs and potentially filming a short video if agreeable.

They would like to showcase technicians job in a variety of areas including but not limited to; architecture, construction, textiles, IT, broadcasting, pharmaceuticals and farming.

If you would be interested in being involved in the above, please contact Michelle Rainbow at the North East LEP – [email protected]

North East LEP Chief Economist Chris Milne examines the latest Labour Market Statistics and concludes that while there are still challenges to overcome, the figures provide more evidence that the regional economy is continuing to grow in the longer term.

An important part of my role is understanding and analysing the evidence that supports the North East LEP’s strategic plan and shapes our approach to economic growth.

One of the best measures is the labour market statistics produced by the Office for National Statistics.

The latest figures provide us with some interesting, but mixed messages about the North East economy.

Employment of people aged 16+ has risen by 17,000 to near record levels to stand at almost 1.2m
There are now 32,000 fewer people out of work aged between 16-64 – that’s a 25% fall compared to the same period a year ago
Unemployment in the North East has fallen rapidly. The number of people out of work over the past year has dropped from 9.9% to 7.6%. That fall over the past year is almost twice the average for England
The traditional working age population of the North East has continued to rise, with 5,000 more people aged 16-64
Our employment rate has stayed at near record levels at 69.3%, but has fallen below its highest ever recorded level of 70.2% in the previous quarter
We have seen a continuation in the falling number of people claiming Job Seekers Allowance or Universal Credit in the region over the past year, down by nearly 18% to stand at 46,700. The claimant count is now at its lowest level since January 2008.

New figures published today by UKTI also demonstrate where some of the growth is coming from.

In 2014/15 UKTI recorded 44 successful foreign direct investment projects in the North East LEP area, generating around 3,200 jobs – treble that of the previous year.

With UKTI, we supported 42 of these projects, bringing significant benefits to our region.

But the North East economy still has its challenges.
Our rising population puts extra pressure on our economy to maintain and improve upon our high employment rate relative to previous years.

The wider 16+ population has risen by 16,000 in the past year, faster than the 16-64 age band.

Whilst the unemployment rate is decreasing and we are beginning to close the gap with the national average, it is still high in comparison with its current jobless level at 7.6% against the English national average of 5.6%.

Another challenge is the inactivity rate (a measure of the percentage of the population not looking for work) which has increased by 2.1 percentage points in the year to April 2015.

Inactivity remains one of my key concerns for the region but our economic activity rate of 75.1% is still high when compared to historical data for the North East region. Encouragingly, today’s official statistics show there is now a greater percentage of people who are inactive but want a job.

Short term fluctuations in statistics are to be expected and it’s our longer term trajectory and progress towards the targets we set out in our Strategic Economic Plan that are important.

This is an area I will be keeping a close eye on as we deliver our plan for economic growth, and move into a new Parliament complete with all the new challenges and opportunities that presents for our region.

A University of Sunderland engineering student following in her parents’ footsteps is the face of a new advertising campaign to showcase North East England business to millions of passengers at Heathrow Airport.

The photograph of Jennifer Parkins, 20, on her four-year Mechanical Engineering degree course was chosen as the winner from high quality images submitted by 50 businesses to a competition staged by the North East LEP.

The LEP has secured free advertising space worth £500,000 at Heathrow for six weeks from May 18 to show the North East as a great place for companies to invest, grow and prosper.

A total of ten images of North East companies have been chosen to appear in promotional videos that will be shown on digital platforms at departure lounges and gateways across Heathrow, with Jennifer’s winning image fronting the campaign on two poster sites at Terminal 4 and 5. The videos can be viewed on our Google + page.

The airport is recognised as the UK’s hub for business travellers.

The winning images are:

Overall winner – University of Sunderland
Port of Tyne
South Tyneside College
Northumbria University
QuantuMDx
CPI
ORE Catapult
Nissan
AIS Training
Eutechnyx

Paul Woolston, North East LEP Chair, said: “The standard of images submitted to us was incredibly high and we had the toughest of tasks narrowing them down to a final ten.

“The final images, including the overall winner Jennifer Parkins from the University of Sunderland, we felt captured perfectly the breadth of expertise and the strength of innovation and skills driving forward new growth in sectors vital to the North East economy.”

Jennifer, from Jarrow, is just about to start the Sandwich year of her university degree course at Nissan.

With her dad working in engineering and her mum in the oil and gas industry, it was no surprise that Jennifer looked to mechanical engineering as a career.

To increase her employability skills, she is leading the way on the University of Sunderland’s entry into the Formula Student project.

One of Europe’s most established educational motorsport competitions, it aims to inspire and develop enterprising and innovative young engineers.

“Universities from across the world are challenged to design and build a single-seat racing car from scratch,” said Jennifer.

“The project has been fantastic in terms of building up experience from electronic design and shaping concepts, to rolling up my sleeves and doing manual work.

“Studying at Sunderland has created so many opportunities and I have taken up every one. I wanted to use my time at university to make me the best person possible at the end, so that I would be more attractive to future employers and hopefully walk into a job when I graduate.”

Andy Atkinson, Head of Advertising at the University of Sunderland, said: “I’m so pleased that the photograph we submitted of Jennifer has won this prestigious competition; she is a powerful role model for young people considering a higher level career in engineering, a sector in which the North East excels.

“The way she has embraced the opportunities available to her at the University of Sunderland is inspiring and I’m sure that this is just the start of many successes ahead for Jennifer.”

All the images submitted to the Heathrow competition will form a new microsite on the Invest North East England website where they will help to promote the region to prospective investors.

The judging panel for the competition comprised members of the North East LEP, Northern Film and Media and the North East Combined Authority.

You can view the winning images on our Pinterest page here.

Respected business leader Bob Paton has been appointed as the interim chief executive of the North East LEP.

The highly experienced managing director of Accenture’s North East Delivery Centre will start work immediately in his new role, which will run for up to six months.

He will lead work to continue the delivery of the LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan, focusing on helping businesses create more and better jobs.

In addition to his new LEP role, Bob will continue in his leadership role at Accenture. The LEP is continuing to seek a full-time appointment for the chief executive post which they aim to announce in the next six months.

Bob, 58, is relishing his new role. Ashington born, he has built his entire career in the North East, spending 20 years working in the civil service before joining the global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company Accenture in 1992.

Additionally, Bob is vice chairman of Dynamo, the North East IT forum, which is leading work to grow the regional technology sector, is non-executive chairman of RTC North, the Sunderland-based business growth and technology transfer company, and is on the Board of the University of Sunderland.

“Born and bred in the North East, I’m passionate about making it a success and was absolutely delighted to be asked to be interim chief executive at the North East LEP,” said Bob, who lives near Hexham.

“One of the things that drives me in my career is giving young people of all capabilities the chance to have a better job.

“The North East LEP is leading economic growth, investing in skills and innovation and making sure that young people have the skills required by industry.

“I see a fantastic opportunity here. We are the only industrialised region where you can reach out to all the schools, colleges and universities, to every firm both large and small, every council, every MP, as well as the business support organisations.

“I have worked with many of the North East’s public and private sector leaders and know collaboration will help ensure our success. I’ve learned over the years that you have to work together as part of a team.”

Paul Woolston, North East LEP Chair, said: “The team at the North East LEP are thrilled that we are able to appoint Bob into the interim chief executive post.

“He is a vastly experienced and exceptional business leader, who is respected across the private and public sectors.

“Bob is very much a leader who brings people together to deliver success, as his track record proves over more than 40 years working in the North East.

“He will lead the delivery of our activity over the next six months, laying the foundations for a permanent chief executive to be appointed.”

The number of apprenticeships in the North East is rising. They are increasingly recognised by businesses as a way to build a strong and skilled workforce, and more young people are looking to them as a way to start and develop their career.

However, we need to do more – currently only 18% of North East businesses employ an apprentice. With an objective to increase this to 30% by 2017 at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership we recognise that apprenticeships are central to delivering more and better jobs and improving skills.

This is why we are investing in pre-apprenticeship training and traineeships. Apprenticeships are not an easy option and with many still holding preconceived ideas about what an apprenticeship is, there are a limited number of high quality candidates applying for apprenticeships.

It is essential that those interested in apprenticeships have the opportunity to develop the right skills and work experience – especially for growth sectors. For example the IT sector is one of the regions largest employers, with a workforce of over 32,000. However there are currently 2,000 IT vacancies, and an IT skills gap that means there are not enough young people with the right skills to fill these and future proof the industry growth potential.

Working with Dynamo, the IT industry body in the North East, we are supporting sector focussed programmes for the IT industry. Dynamo has already created the first IT apprenticeship hub in partnership with Sunderland Software City and we are planning more hubs in other key locations across the area.

Charlie Hoult, Chair of Dynamo said: Investment in sector specific apprenticeships is critical. To maintain and maximise the growth and potential of these sectors we need to invest in the next generation. Through targeted sector initiatives, like the IT Apprenticeship Hub, we can make sure young people have the skills they need for these industries, growing North East businesses confidence in the standards and skills of apprenticeship candidates.”

North East businesses also have an important role to play – the experience they can give to future apprentices through work experience and traineeships is invaluable. This is why we are also delivering support to North East SMEs to help them identify opportunities and create new opportunities for young people, though a new partnership scheme – Generation NE.

The £4.5m scheme, which is led by a partnership of local authorities and the North East LEP, will provide dedicated support through a team of specialist business advisors, to businesses to help them offer work placements and traineeships.

Gill Southern, Co-Chair of our North East Business Support Board said: “Providing young people with work experience and skills development is essential. The local economy has great potential, but without the right workforce we won’t be able to achieve our ambitions for sustainable economic growth. SMEs are critical to providing these opportunities, and through schemes such as Generation NE we can ensure that they have the support they need to do this.”

The Digital Catapult, a national centre to rapidly advance the UK’s best digital ideas, has opened its new local centre in the North East of England.

The Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley will work with local businesses, universities and colleges, the public sector and two other Digital Catapult Centres across the UK to unlock value from everyday data. It showcases the North East’s increasingly prominent role as a key location for Digital businesses and employment, and will help create more and better jobs, drive innovation and deliver millions in linked investment and funding.

Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley will focus specifically on projects around the controlled delivery and security of data. It will help businesses and organisations from a wide range of sectors to understand and exploit the value of the data they generate and improve their products and services by increasing information sharing amongst businesses and organisations, opening up new business models and generating new revenue streams.

In the coming weeks, the Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley will launch a programme of challenges and events which will create opportunities for private businesses, the public sector, universities and the region’s software community to collaborate and unlock new value around these areas.

Based in Sunderland, the Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley is a partnership led by Sunderland Software City on behalf of the North East LEP and Tees Valley Unlimited. North East Universities are key partners in the consortium providing the opportunity to draw together and use expertise from across Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Durham University, University of Sunderland and Teesside University departments.

The Digital Catapult North East & Tees Valley consortia members will be working with businesses from all backgrounds to understand the data produced by businesses, public bodies and other organisations and to identify new ways to use it to improve products and services and develop business models which can generate value. In the long run this will deliver business growth, enhanced productivity and provide a magnet for new jobs in the sector. This will help to further strengthen and grow the North East’s software sector and cement the region as an internationally renowned base for data sharing innovation.

It is expected this work will help to create at least 40 new software businesses in the region over the next 3 years with an additional 150 jobs within in this sector alone and a larger employment return in the wider economy.

The Centre will also work with University partners to help develop specialist data skills and courses within the region’s further and higher education establishments, adding to the expertise and resources to make the North East at the forefront of data exploration expertise and attracting further academic and business engagement.

Neil Crockett, CEO of the Digital Catapult said: “The Digital Catapult is here to help create new opportunities across the UK and unlock innovation and value from sharing closed and proprietary data. The truth is the most exciting digital innovation is happening in local communities, like the North East & Tees Valley, who are bringing together new ideas, businesses, universities and the public sector. As a national centre, it is important we support and collaborate with these local innovation communities, it is from these local hotspots that we will find the best innovation, create the most relevant products and reap the economic benefit for the UK.”

Paul Woolston, Chairman of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership said: “The Digital Catapult Centre North East & Tees Valley is a ground breaking partnership bringing together and sharing expertise between both regional LEPs, our region’s five universities and Sunderland Software City to be at the national and international leading edge in this rapidly growing sector.

“This Centre is yet another vital initiative in our development of the region as a globally relevant and collaborative innovation eco-system. It will provide a hub for innovative problem solving, draw in partnerships, develop networks and build skills. All of these will create the “more & better jobs that the region needs. I congratulate all of those who have worked hard to bring the Digital Catapult here.”

Sandy Anderson, Chairman of Tees Valley Unlimited, the LEP for Tees Valley, said: “The Digital Catapult Centre North East and Tees Valley will help us to drive the digital revolution in our region and ensure that companies and entrepreneurs are able to capitalise on emerging opportunities in the field of data exploration and delivery, with the Digital Catapult providing us with the means, support and knowledge to bring ideas to fruition more speedily and effectively.

“The partnership will strengthen this important sector and help make the North East of England a destination of choice for new stat-ups and inward investment as well as nurturing new talent in the field.”

David Dunn, Chief Executive of Sunderland Software City said: “It is an exciting time to be a business in the North East. Our digital economy is already one of the strongest in the UK and by developing a niche specialism around the controlled delivery and security of data for commercial exploration will open up vast economic opportunities for the digital sector and the North East business community as a whole.

We are delighted to be launching the Digital Catapult Centre North East and Tees Valley which will provide a thriving, state-of-the-art hub for some of the country’s most innovative digital companies and entrepreneurs and en exciting programme of projects and innovation calls, events, business development support and corporate supporter opportunities for businesses from all backgrounds.”

Organisations and individuals who wish to get involved with the programme of activity should content the centre on [email protected]

Category: Skills

North East LEP sponsors North East Apprenticeship Awards

£4.8million project in the North East to support people into work, training and education

In conversation with North East LEP chairman Paul Woolston on the new NMW rates

Good Career Guidance project update

North East employment rises to nearly 1.2m

Young engineer Jennifer flying high fronting Heathrow campaign

Accenture’s Bob Paton appointed as Interim Chief Executive of North East LEP

Developing the right skills for industry is essential for delivering more apprenticeships

Digital Catapult Centre opens its doors to help businesses unlock value from data