Skills Archives - Page 27 of 28 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

A pioneering, employer-driven learning institution aimed at putting the North East at the centre of the UK’s science and technology industry today won Government approval.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, today announced the go-ahead for the Northern Futures University Technical College (UTC). The UTC will offer the North East’s young people opportunities to succeed in today’s science and technology economy, whilst providing employers with the advanced technical skills they require.

The North East is a vibrant region with some thriving businesses and sectors. However, a focus on skills development is needed to help sectors such as Information Technology and Healthcare Sciences to continue to expand and create more jobs. The Northern Futures UTC is designed to support the growth of these sectors.

Northern Futures UTC will cater for students aged 14-18 specialising in Information Technology (IT) and Healthcare Sciences.Its curriculum will help young people develop the right skills for “careers of the future”, while complementing and supplementing existing education and skills provision in the North East.

The North East has a hugely successful and increasingly prominent Information Technology (IT) sector which employs over 32,000 people. Within Healthcare Science there continue to be many technical and scientific breakthroughs, often originating in the North East region. As a result, treatment is becoming more technically specialised and there is an increased demand for skilled workers.

Both sectors are continuing to create many new employment opportunities which are entirely consistent with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Strategic Economic Plan for the North East – “More and Better Jobs”.

Northern Futures UTC will play a key role in ensuring that there are enough young people with the right skills available to join both the IT and Health Sciences sectors.

The UTC is sponsored by the University of Sunderland and leading regional employers. From an IT perspective these include Accenture, which has a Technology Delivery Centre in the region; Sage, the only FTSE 100 UK technology company; and HP, which has a Regional Delivery Centre in the North East. Northern Futures UTC is also supported by Dynamo, the North East IT Cluster.

For Healthcare Science,the UTC has support from a number of healthcare organisations and local SMEs. These include The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, the Academic Health Sciences Network North East and North Cumbria, and specialist SMEs such as Kromek and PolyPhotonix.

Newcastle City Council and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership are also supporters of Northern Futures UTC.

Bob Paton, MD of Accenture’s Newcastle Delivery Centre and Chair of the Northern Future’s Proposer Group said: “Accenture is a strong supporter of the UTC movement because we believe practical, vocational education is essential to preparing young people in the North East for technology-based careers.

“The Northern Futures UTC will be a great asset to the region. It will inspire students to develop technology skills, thereby creating a pool of skilled, work-ready young people keen to pursue careers in high-growth sectors in the region.”

Professor Roy Sandbach, Chair of the North East LEP Innovation Board said: “Driving more and better jobs is at the heart of the North East LEP economic strategy. This UTC will play a vital role in meeting skill needs in two vital employment sectors, IT and Healthcare Sciences, where we already have great strengths and have wonderful opportunities for growth. We have been directly involved with the bid and are very happy with today’s announcement.”

Lord Baker, Chairman of Baker Dearing Educational Trust, said: “The UTC movement is gaining momentum and I am delighted to see that more young people in the North East will be able to benefit from an UTC education. More than 600 employers, both large and small, back UTCs because they can see they make sense.

“Northern Futures UTC is the second school to be announced in the North East and joins South Durham UTC which will open in 2016.

“Our challenge now is to ensure that young people and their parents have access to the information and advice they need to take advantage of this exciting and important technical provision.”

Sir Leonard Fenwick, CBE, Chief Executive of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “This is a significant boost for the North East and provides a great opportunity for young people to be directly involved in proactive programmes aimed at underpinning their personal development, skills, knowledge and confidence to then progress through to quality employment and all this entails.”

Dr. Arnab Basu MBE, Chair of the Academic Health Science Network North East&North Cumbria (a founding partner of Northern Futures) said: “I am delighted with the news – the UTC will benefit both the young people and the industry in the region by providing highly focused employer-led education which will make the students better contributors to the growing IT and health science sectors in our region.”

Professor Gary Holmes, Pro Vice-Chancellor University of Sunderland,said:“The university is proud to sponsor this important development. The UTC will give young people the skills, qualifications, experiences and confidence to enter rewarding and exciting areas of the regional economy. The skills gap in our region is a real threat to prosperity and UTCs bring together the right regional interests to address that challenge head-on.”

Nick Forbes, Leader of Newcastle City Council, said: “Newcastle’s reputation as a hotbed of expertise in digital technology is growing fast. It’s vital that we prepare now for the jobs of the future, and secure the benefits for young people from this region. I want to pay tribute to the business leaders who have championed this vision for a University Technical College, and look forward to seeing the first cohort of young people taking their first step towards an exciting career in a flourishing North East digital sector. ”

The Northern Futures UTC is scheduled to open in September 2017. A number of sites in Newcastle city centre are being considered as the location.

From ages 14 to 16 students will spend60% of their time studying the National Curriculum and 40% on technology based projects. From ages 16 to 18 students will devote 40% of their time to the National Curriculum and 60% to technology based projects.

The UTC will adopt a business-like approach to learning, with a longer school year and school day. It will foster innovation, creativity and entrepreneurialism among its students, encouraging them to develop real-world solutions to live business issues faced by the employer sponsors.

The employer backers will make major, practical commitments to the UTC, including significant input into curriculum development; providing one-to-one mentors; setting business projects for students; providing high-quality work placements; and guaranteeing job interviews with sponsor companies.The region’s businesses are invited to support and help make the UTC a success.

A key objective of the UTC is to reach girls who are under-represented ontechnical courses and within these areas of employment.

A new £4.5 million employment programme unveiled today will empower North East businesses to future-proof their workforces whilst tackling youth unemployment in the region.

Over the next three years, Generation NE – a collaboration between five local authorities and the North East LEP – will support the region’s SME community to strengthen their businesses by increasing sustainable employment opportunities for up to 2,000 young people.

To mark the launch of the new programme Newcastle, Durham, Gateshead, North Tyneside and Northumberland councils hosted an exclusive Round Table Debate this morning at Accenture.

The focus of the discussion shone a light on how small to medium-sized businesses can benefit from engaging with young people, how it could be made easier for companies to give young people a chance and how the region’s business community could enhance its engagement with young people.

Amongst the key business leaders who participated in the debate, which was chaired by Kim Inglis, were representatives from Accenture, James Burrell, Royal Mail, Aspire Technology, NECC, the North East LEP and Jobcentre Plus.

Councillor Grant Davey, employability and inclusion lead for the Combined Authority and leader of Northumberland County Council, said: “The launch of Generation NE will help ensure that all young people in the region believe they can, and have the ability, to secure a job.

“Investing in the workforce of tomorrow is one of the most effective ways for companies to strengthen their business. Generation NE will help facilitate this by working with employers to provide a simplified, coordinated and tailor-made package of high quality support as well as one-to-one advice on how they can increase the opportunities that they provide for young people.

“To launch the programme we brought together a number of key business owners and leaders in the youth employment agenda to discuss the issues that matter most to small and medium-sized businesses when it comes to future-proofing their workforce.”

The £4.5 million programme, which forms part of the NELEP’s Growth Deal, will work with small to medium-sized businesses in the region to create sustainable employment for 2,000 young people aged between 17 and 24 years.

Gill Southern, Joint Chair of the North East LEP’s Business Support Board, said: “It’s essential that small businesses are given expert support to employ more young people who are the future lifeblood of their companies and the wider North East economy.

“The £4.5m investment into Generation NE through the North East LEP’s Growth Deal is aimed at helping strengthen companies by offering a brighter future of job opportunities to local young people keen to get on the employment ladder.”

Generation NE’s team of dedicated Business Advisors will offer SMEs a tailored and impartial service that will allow companies to make connections with the region’s next generation in the right way. By offering a simplified, responsive and coordinated service, in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, this collaboration will expand the number of opportunities available to young people in the region.

Recent research has found that many young people not in education, employment, or training in the North East feel disconnected and that nearly half (46 percent) cite a lack of experience as a barrier to employment and with a quarter (25 percent) believing their skills or qualifications are not good enough.

For more information on Generation NE and how its team of Business Advisors are helping North East businesses to engage with young people visit www.generationne.co.uk or call 0191 598 7458.

The search is on for the cream of North East business talent to help raise worker skills levels, creating more and better jobs as part of a programme of economic growth worth around £500m.

Up to six people are being sought by the North East LEP to represent local employers at the heart of a new employment and skills board.

These key posts will help underpin new economic growth by advising the full North East LEP Board where to best target funding to nurture a new generation of skilled workers to fill more specialist posts.

Better skilled workers will be more appealing to employers who are demanding more qualified employees to fill jobs in fast growth sectors such as digital and tech industries, marine offshore and advanced manufacturing.

The new North East Employment and Skills Board is due to go live in March.

Its aim will be to drive new thinking around employability and skills. The new board will bring together up to six ambitious business, voluntary and community sector representatives working alongside LEP board members and other key partners in the employability and skills arena.

Employability and skills are two of the six priorities outlined in the North East Strategic Economic Plan ‘More and Better Jobs’.

The skills and employability programmes provide the framework for an investment of about £500m over the next six years into the local economy through the North East LEP from Government and European Union funding.

A substantial part of this investment aims to drive up skills achievements across all levels, from engaging with those who are traditionally hard to reach, through to ensuring graduates are equipped with appropriate skill sets for working in growing companies.

North East LEP board member and Sunderland College Principal Anne Isherwood said: “We are seeking up to six ambitious representatives from the North East business, voluntary and community sectors who will offer energy, commitment, vision and business insight in their respective sectors.

“They must have strong experience in developing business operations and ambitions for growth in their businesses through understanding skills requirements and needs within industry sectors.”

The non-executive posts will demand about nine days time per year with appointments made for up to three years. The posts are unpaid. Initially the employment and skills board will meet bi-monthly.

Andrew Hodgson, North East LEP Vice Chair and Skills Lead, said: “Specifically, we are aiming to ensure that North East businesses have access to appropriately skilled people who will participate and thrive in a competitive economy.

“We wish to appoint up to six leaders to represent employers – both private and voluntary sector – in the North East LEP area, who are able to champion and articulate the skills needs of businesses in the context of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.”

Businesspeople wishing to apply for a new board post should send a CV or up to date biography with a covering letter to Michelle Duggan.

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Tuesday 10 February 2015. You can read the Employment and Skills Board Applicant Brief here.

Training our young people to have the specialist skills industry now demands is absolutely vital if the North East is to create more and better jobs.

I welcome that Government have recognised the vital role of businesses to make sure the future financing of apprenticeships is right for all and are asking business the best way forward for employers to take direct control of apprenticeship funding.

Its right that Nick Boles, the Minister for Skills and Equalities, in his response this week to consultation has emphasised the importance not to impose reform on companies who have expressed worries about possible unnecessary red tape, extra paperwork and potential cash flow problems.

While seeking more consultation with business to arrive at a final funding mechanism which works best for them may appear to be a frustrating delay, Government is acting responsibly based upon feedback from hundreds of firms.

Quite how employers are funded to take control of purchasing power to ensure employee training best fits their exact requirements needs more work, but feedback from business broadly supports the principle of employers leading the development of apprenticeship standards.

Organisations representing more than 500,000 companies have signed an open letter to this effect.

Freedom to select the training and services that best meet their needs will help to better grow business productivity and improve the long-term employment prospects of their apprentices.

In the meantime, the Government will continue to trial new employer-designed apprenticeship standards in this financial year, continuing through 2015-16 where the Government pays £2 for every £1 the employer invests in their apprentice’s training.

The North East LEP is also fully committed to helping the North East nurture and train the next generation of skilled employees local firms demand.

Through our European Strategy we have identified £4.7m every year for the next six years to improve links between business and education.

At the heart of our commitment is the North East Education Challenge. We are working with schools, business leaders and local education authorities to raise attainment levels by school children in STEM subjects in particular, to better equip them with the academic knowledge increasingly specialist employers need.

The prize for getting the balance right between supply and demand is a huge one.

A highly skilled workforce will underpin the growth of sectors where much of the North East’s future economic well-being lies – advanced manufacturing, marine offshore and digital industries for example all requiring specialist new workers to drive their rapid growth.

Andrew Hodgson
Vice Chair and Skills Lead

Paul Woolston, North East LEP Chair, today welcomed the outstanding research excellence results of local universities, setting them amongst the best in the UK.

Results from the Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014) unveiled today assess the research activity of universities over the past six years, its quality and its impact.

Newcastle University is ranked 16th in the UK, Durham 18th, Northumbria 52nd and Sunderland 103rd.

Mr Woolston said: “The REF results are proof positive of the overall quality of our superb universities and the impact their research makes on our economy and wider society.

“The results pinpointed the sheer depth and reach of the world leading and internationally excellent research at our universities, in areas key to our economic success such as sciences, engineering and educational attainment.

“They are leading the way in our region, nationally and internationally with pioneering research and innovation that brings with it huge economic benefits for the North East.

“The innovation they lead working closely with business helps support the delivery of the North East Economic Plan, creating new, high quality jobs, fresh ideas and intellectual property which play such a major part in creating new growth and prosperity in the North East.”

Increasing the number of higher level apprenticeships is a priority for the North East. They offer learners and employers a real alternative choice and are fundamental to tackling the growing skills gap. And, research clearly shows there is the demand for apprenticeships, with higher than national numbers of young people in the North East choosing them to launch their careers.

We’ve already started the journey – working with skills providers we have helped deliver an additional 150 higher lever apprenticeships for next year. But it is not just about numbers though, it’s also about tailoring apprenticeships to meet market demands.

Working with partners we are delivering projects and interventions to make this happen. We have set ourselves some ambitious targets and are delivering projects to meet them.

Working together to deliver more apprenticeships

The North East Apprenticeship Hub is a partner initiative with the ultimate aim of increasing the number of the right apprenticeships for the North East.

By providing a focal point for local action and support it will promote the benefits of apprenticeships to potential employers and applicants and encourage more businesses to take on apprentices. It will bring together partners to join together priorities, resources and activities around apprenticeships. And working with providers it will help to create the right programmes to meet local business needs, providing locally tailored and easily accessible advice and guidance.

Independent support will be available through a website, containing helpful guides and advice on funding. It will bring people together in one place, to liaise, learn and share knowledge and better understand why and how to take on an apprentice. The site is due to launch early next year.

Understanding the best way forward

The North East has great support for apprenticeships – with programmes such as the Journal’s Proud to Back Apprenticeships already championing the benefits. It’s critical that the Hub builds on this work, rather than just replicating it under a different name.

Earlier this year we commissioned New Skills Consulting and TBR to undertake research to better understand the needs and potential of apprenticeships in the North East. It looked at what are the true barriers to apprenticeships and what is needed to overcome these.

It focused on three specific areas – analysis of current data and statistics to provide baseline of current activity and attitudes; talking to businesses, training providers other stakeholders to build up a true understanding of barriers and possible solutions to the take up of apprenticeships; presenting the findings and providing recommendations.

The report will be instrumental to shaping the direction of apprenticeship programmes in the North East and support continued economic growth. The findings of the research set out four areas of activity which are around improving engagement with schools; co-ordinating a pre-apprenticeship programme; improving information and support for employers new to apprenticeships and increasing marketing and PR activity.

The full report will be published in the new year

Supporting higher apprenticeships

Its not just about increasing numbers – to be successful in tackling the skills gap they also have to be the right apprenticeships, of which higher apprenticeships are essential.

This month we brought together training and education providers in a seminar to look at best practice in developing a higher apprenticeship programme. The sold out seminar included speakers from Accenture, ID training, University of Sunderland and the SFA, raised the profile and the benefits of higher apprenticeships and is a step towards bringing more and better apprenticeships to the North East.

Employment in the North East of England increased by 40,000 in the last quarter compared to the same time last year, meaning the region now has a record 1.2 million people in work.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures for December 2013 to February 2014 have been welcomed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership as evidence that the private sector is growing rapidly and creating new jobs at record levels.

These data follow a 25,000 jump in regional employment for the quarter November 2013-January 2014 compared to the same quarter in the previous year.

The ONS data refers to the North East region as a whole. An estimated three-quarters of the new employment, or 30,000 jobs, are in the North East LEP area of Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham.

North East LEP chief economist, Mauricio Armellini said: “This confirms the trend we observed in the previous quarter’s data. To give a sense of scale, one of the biggest success stories in the North East is Nissan which employs 6,000-7,000 people directly. So 40,000 new jobs is an increase in employment equivalent to six Nissans in a year, which is pretty impressive in any context.

“With 900,000 people now in employment in the North East Local Enterprise Partnership area we’re in a strong position to reach our vision of one million people in employment by 2024. We must ensure that these jobs are inclusive and reach all communities, but equally that they are the better jobs we need to keep productivity growth high and maintain our competitiveness.”

‘More and Better Jobs’, the recently published North East LEP Strategic Economic Plan, builds on many of the recommendations put forward last year by Lord Andrew Adonis in his Economic Review and includes closing the employment rate gap between the LEP area and the rest of the UK.
It also aims to halve the gap between the region and the national average (excluding London) on the key economic indicators of gross value added (GVA) per full time equivalent, private sector employment density, and activity rate.

This week’s positive employment figures follow recent ONS data that showed the North East’s labour productivity is growing at the fastest rate in the UK, using both the GVA measure and hours worked, and the alternative GVA/job filled indicator.
This more comprehensive economic measure shows people and businesses in the North East LEP area are winning the competition with the rest of the country to produce more valuable goods and services for each hour worked. To achieve this whilst also enjoying significant jobs growth is a sign of a real competitive edge.

Paul Woolston, chair of the North East LEP, said: “The new employment data, coming on top of the positive productivity figures, shows a sustained upwards curve in the region’s economy.

“The 40,000 increase in employment in the last quarter compared to last year’s figures is excellent news, and proves that our ambitious job creation aims contained in the strategic plan are both realistic and achievable over the next decade.”

For any ambitious business or organisation, building a dynamic workforce – finding the right people and giving them the skills they need – is the key to success. The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) clearly recognises this and has identified improving the skills base in the area as one of its key economic priorities, fundamental to underpinning business creation, innovation and growth in the area.

Working with the Skills Funding Agency, they have selected Ingeus UK to help deliver high impact short courses, bespoke skills training and accredited qualifications to North East SMEs as part of the European Social Fund (ESF) programme in the area. Ingeus is now overseeing the delivery of a significant ESF investment to provide a wide range of training to local employees. They have developed the Workforce Investment Network (WIN), an ambitious programme to help businesses by identifying their growth plans and workforce needs before matching them up to the best available training for their people.

The company has also been selected to oversee the delivery of the Local Response Fund (LRF) for the North East LEP. Local Response Funds have been put in place for each LEP area across the country and this additional ESF funding will enable LEPs to respond flexibly to a range of identified local skills priorities with a focus on upskilling employed individuals and helping SMEs in key sectors to become more competitive.

Andrew Hodgson, North East LEP Board member with the lead on skills, is encouraged by the opportunity afforded by this initiative:
“The Local Response Fund represents a significant investment in skills in the North East LEP area and we are determined to ensure that we support a range of projects which both add value in the short term and leave a lasting legacy. Ingeus have demonstrated a strong commitment to delivering against the priorities we have identified; they have taken the initiative and shown flexibility in shaping their offer to meet with our existing and emerging strategic objectives.”

Ingeus UK is now working closely with the North East LEP and other key stakeholders across the area to ensure that a range of innovative projects will be funded through LRF which both address local priorities and lead to a lasting benefit for the North East. This close co-operation resulted in the North East identifying and developing one of the first LRF projects in the country to be approved by the SFA National Panel.

This first project is with a leading North East partnership, NewcastleGateshead Cultural Venues (NGCV) and the LRF investment will allow NGCV to develop its own workforce and encourage access to training for the wider cultural sector.

Anthony Baker, Joint Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Dance City and the Chair of the NGCV Skills Group said:
“As a partnership, we are excited to be working on this important initiative for the sector. It marks a real step change to NGCV’s work in this area by creating a progressive training and development programme which works across cultural forms and is built around identifiable workforce needs. It is designed to develop individuals and businesses which already have strong creative or technical skills, but not necessarily all of the business thinking and practical skills which will enhance the performance of the overall cultural business. Our project also seeks to strengthen the profile of the cultural sector across the whole North East LEP area, as an important sector for investment, and aims to provide a lasting benefit for the North East”

Ingeus and NGCV have developed a strong working partnership and this first project will have a number of tangible results:

– Mapping the knowledge, skills and expertise of existing staff to determine needs and priority areas of the partnership
– Establishing a multi-layered training programme which addresses core skills as well as progressive training and development opportunities
– Increasing the capacity of the sector to train itself, sharing skills across and beyond the partnership
– Creation of new pathways for smaller, regional organisations and individuals to benefit from and feed into a regional training model, supporting the cultural infrastructure more widely
– Establishment of a sustainable and accredited training and development model for the wider sector which will see NGCV partners becoming training providers regionally and nationally

David Gallagher, who is the Head of Employer Services for Ingeus, based in their offices in Team Valley, said:
“We are delighted to be working with the North East LEP, SFA and key stakeholders in the North East to deliver the Workforce Investment Network and the Local Response Fund. This new initiative brings together the best of the region’s training providers and could make a real difference to local businesses. This is a great offer for them: there is no cost to the business or their staff for any of the support, analysis or training received. WIN and LRF are about working together to invest experience and expertise into North East businesses to help them to succeed and grow. This is good for local business and the success it leads to is good news for the area’s economy.”

For further information, call 0845 330 8184 or email [email protected]

Automotive event links businesses with academic technical experts.

Connecting automotive businesses with the expertise of four of the region’s universities to boost innovation and growth will be under the spotlight next week.

A major event staged by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (NELEP) and the universities of Newcastle, Northumbria, Durham and Sunderland, is aiming to act as a catalyst for increased collaboration between industry and academics to create new investment, businesses and products.

Driving Innovation 2013, a free half-day event at Gosforth Park Marriott on October 23, will give automotive businesses the opportunity to talk about technical or developmental challenges that are putting the brakes on improvements or the creation of new products and services. Experts from the four universities will be able to provide guidance on setting up new collaborations for bespoke projects or ongoing work.

The day will showcase a number of areas where the region’s universities are leading the field in innovative automotive technology, including energy recovery, engine development, precision/micro-manufacturing, autonomous driving, electric vehicles and sensors, smart electronics, and lighting.

Keynote speaker Richard Ebrahim, who is heading production of Nissan’s new Infiniti luxury model at Sunderland, will speak at the event about the automotive industry in the region. The Japanese car giant has a successful track record of collaboration with academia in its research and development work, both in conventional vehicles and the new generation of electric cars.

The event is the first of its kind co-organised by the North East LEP to drive its North East Innovation programme.
North East LEP director Edward Twiddy, who will also address the conference, said: “Driving Innovation 2013 is a key building block to encourage universities and local businesses to work together to encourage growth, as recommended by the Witty Review carried out for the Government.

“One of our key remits is to lead innovation-driven work, and find ways to bring together applied research, academia and industry. The event also highlights how our universities are collaborating on important sectors such as the automotive industry, to share their collective expertise for the benefit of the North East economy.”

International innovator Prof Roy Sandbach, who spent three decades with global consumer products giant Procter & Gamble and who leads the North East LEP’s innovation strategy, will be at Driving Innovation.
Prof Sandbach, who is the current David Goldman visiting Professor of Innovation & Enterprise at Newcastle University Business School, said: “This is a great example of the new sense of focused collaboration that the North East LEP must foster. It really deserves active support.

“We all need to show our commitment to economic growth through collaboration across institutions, businesses and innovation agencies. This is a team game. And I am very happy that the universities are taking the lead on this. This is perfectly consistent with the strategic direction outlined in the just-published Witty report to focus on strengths and create collaborative networks with universities at the heart. We are at the front of the pack with this event.”

He said the North East LEP’s innovation strategy is now crystallising to build on innovation hubs and support networks.

“The North East LEP will build a credible outward-facing engagement with global innovation opportunities and it will develop a vibrant innovation culture through training and mentoring,” said Prof Sandbach.

“This demands cross-organisational leadership and I am confident that all the key players will step up. They have to, for the region to thrive.

“We all want this region to be recognised for innovation. It is in our DNA.”

Driving Innovation takes place on Wednesday October 23 at Gosforth Park Marriott from 8am to 1pm. To book a place, register online at www.ncl.ac.uk/sage/drivinginnovation2013 or contact Nicola Taylor, Newcastle University email: [email protected] or phone: 0191 208 5488.

The initiative is funded and supported by the North East LEP and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Further information from Christine Holland, Holland PR & Marketing Ltd. Tel 01670 790246 or 07711 698246.

Category: Skills

Government gives green light to North East’s employer-led University Technical College

North East businesses look to the future with new £4.5m youth employment programme

Business talent sought to lead new skills board as part of £500m economic investment

Supporting employers to fund apprenticeships – we need to get it right

Paul Woolston welcomes research excellence results of local universities

Delivering more and better apprenticeships

North East employment grows by 40,000 – a recored 1.2m in work

North East LEP selects Ingeus UK to improve local skills

North East LEP working with universities to drive innovation