Skills Archives - Page 9 of 28 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has appointed a new Chair to its Skills Advisory Panel.

Ellen Thinnesen will lead the Skills Advisory Panel as it supports the drive to improve skills in the North East workforce.

Ellen is CEO of Education Partnership North East (EPNE), a partnership between Sunderland College, Hartlepool Sixth Form and Northumberland College.

EPNE is one of the largest college groups in the country with campuses across the North East region, from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the Tees Valley, and a combined student enrolments of over 21,500.

Ellen first began her career as a qualified nurse and has previously held high-profile positions within the education sector in Manchester and the Yorkshire and Humber regions.

In her previous role as Principal and Chief Executive of Sunderland College, her ambitious vision led the college through two highly successful mergers.

She has held numerous board positions in the education and not-for-profit sectors within the North East and beyond. She continues to contribute nationally to influence education policy and reform.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East LEP, said: “Improving skills in the North East workforce is fundamental to our economic future, especially now as we adapt to the significant challenges presented by COVID-19.

“Ellen is an inspiring leader who is truly passionate about making a difference and raising aspirations in the North East. We are delighted to welcome her as Chair of the Skills Advisory Panel.”

Ellen Thinnesen said: “I am honoured to be appointed as Chair of the Skills Advisory Panel. I look forward to working with the other panel members to continue to support the LEP to ensure we have a thriving skills system which meets the current and future needs of employers and drives the goal of creating more and better jobs for our region.”

Through the Skills Advisory Panel, the LEP is working to understand our region’s current and future skills needs and labour market challenges. The panel includes representatives from the North East LEP, the North East Combined Authority and North of Tyne Combined Authority, universities, colleges and local businesses. The work of the Skills Advisory Panel will feed directly into the development and delivery of the North East Local Industrial Strategy.

New funding from government is on offer to help employers in the North East create job placements for young people who might otherwise be at risk of long-term unemployment.

Applications are now open for the Kickstart Scheme, which offers employers of any size, and operating in any sector, funding to create new, six month job placements for young people who are currently receiving Universal Credit.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, explains: “The aim of this new scheme is to help young people gain the skills, confidence and experience that they need in order to go on and find work once they’ve completed their job placement.

“It’s not just a short-term measure. In the North East we really want to provide high quality job placements that will not only give young people experience of the workplace, but also give them valuable opportunities to learn and progress.”

Businesses that want to create 30 or more job placements can apply directly to the Kickstart Scheme via www.gov.uk. For businesses that plan to create fewer than 30 placements, the North East LEP will apply on their behalf, grouping applications to create clusters of high quality placements across a range of sectors in the North East.

Organisations of any size are eligible to apply, as long as the placements they are creating help young people to become more employable, for example, by helping them develop their skills in the workplace, by providing support with interview preparation and CV development, or by providing careers advice and help with goal-setting.

The funding on offer includes 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions. There is also £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.

Employers can spread the start date of the job placements until the end of December 2021.

Michelle Rainbow added: “We know that young people, many of whom have finished school, college or university during the pandemic, are facing a difficult time and might have seen their plans for the future turned upside down.

“That’s why programmes like this are so important, and why we are working with North East employers to help give the next generation the best possible start in what is one of the most difficult times any of us have seen.”

For more information about the Kickstart Scheme visit www.northeastlep.co.uk/kickstart.

Kim Smith, College Careers Hub Facilitator at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), talks about colleges and their role at the centre of the economic rebuild as we celebrate Colleges Week 2020

Further Education Colleges have long been important economic drivers within our communities and their positive impact upon the wider regional economy has been growing dramatically.

It may be tempting to see colleges simply as teaching and training centres and to neglect the wider impact and effects they have upon the local and regional community.

However, the contribution that colleges make to their community is huge, and much bigger than many would have credited them with. Much of this impact and value goes unseen, but it is very real and it affects a range of people and groups, including local businesses, employers, learners, society and taxpayers.

There are nine Further Education colleges within the North East LEP area. As well as being significant employers of both teaching and non-teaching staff, these colleges help to strengthen the local economy through the regeneration of their communities.

A great example of this is Bishop Auckland College and the work it is doing with key partners as part of the Bishop Auckland Strong Town Board to start formulating a bid for up to £25 million from the Government’s Stronger Town’s Fund.

We know that colleges are strategic leaders in their locality to ensure an effective skills system that responds to the needs of local communities and businesses. Colleges are also key partners for translating the LEP’s economic vision of more and better jobs into a reality. In recognition of this, Ellen Thinnesen, CEO of Education Partnership North East (EPNE), a partnership between Sunderland College, Hartlepool Sixth Form and Northumberland College, was recently appointed as Chair of the Skills Advisory Panel (SAP).

Colleges provide a clear line of sight to the world of work for young people, playing a pivotal role in developing tomorrow’s workforce and supporting those who are unemployed to retrain and/or upskill, they stimulate local economic growth and job creation, and they create meaningful partnerships with schools, universities and employers.

That’s why the North East LEP earlier this year made a Local Growth Fund grant of £954,983 to support New College Durham’s Institute of Technology (IoT). The IoT will see New College Durham work in partnership with Nissan, Esh Group and Newcastle University to deliver quality higher-level technical training in subjects such as digital, advanced manufacturing and engineering.

Further education and private training providers also collaborating are Sunderland College, Tyne Coast College, East Durham College, Middlesbrough College, and NA College Trust.

There is also the North East LEP College Hub, which I facilitate. The College Hub brings together the Colleges based in the LEP area, and two of the largest Sixth Form Institutions. It was initially tasked with supporting the adoption, implementation and achievement of the Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks and assessing how transferable they are from school settings to further education.

The College Hub is now taking on a broader remit to include Apprenticeships, T-levels, Higher Technical Education and the brokering of strategic employer partnerships with Further Education Institutions. Through the Enterprise Advisor Network, we are privileged to have supported positive working relationships between colleges and employers such as Bowmer + Kirkland, AkzoNobel, Accenture and Sunderland Software City, as well as public sector organisations NHS, Northumbria Police, Durham Constabulary, DWP and HMRC.

As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, colleges play a central role in our economic recovery. Despite budgets cuts of 30% since 2009, colleges remain large employers in their own right, champions of the future workforce and anchors within the towns and cities they serve.

In short, colleges are at the heart of our communities, adapting and doing more than ever to drive economic prosperity and helping to build a stronger future for our region.

A ground-breaking pilot project is providing North East schools, employers, further education, higher education and training providers with live data on young people’s career aspirations and understanding of the different options open to them when they leave school.

In the first project of its kind, a new digital tool developed by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), allows educators to use current data from pupils at 16 pilot schools to tailor careers guidance and training opportunities for young people in the North East.

Neill Willis, Regional Lead, Education Challenge, at the North East LEP, said: “Much of the data regarding young people’s progression that can be used to inform careers education, information, advice and guidance strategic planning is historic, with time lags of up to two years. For the first time, we now have up to date data, based on hundreds of students, which we can use to help improve the prospects of young people across our region.

“This data tells us, for example, how many young people want to pursue a career in health and life sciences, how many are interested in higher education or how many need more help in understanding what apprenticeships are and how to apply. The data will be used and shared with partners to ensure further guidance and experiences are tailored to fit with their needs.”

The data is gathered through careers leaders and careers interviews with students at the 16 pilot schools. The students meet with a qualified careers adviser seven times across two academic years and, in between each meeting, their feedback is used to shape the guidance and interventions they receive.

The impact of interventions such as careers workshops, encounters with employers, and mock interviews, can also be more accurately tracked using the data.

“Data is collected as students move through year 10 and 11, so it’s not just a snapshot,” said Neil Willis. “After each interview, the students’ data is fed into a digital tool which collates and analyses it, giving us the ability to see individual information, and regional trends, in young people’s understanding of their possible choices and their post-16 intended destinations.

“This has the potential to further transform careers education, information, advice and guidance in the North East, making it more targeted and impactful, and giving young people the best possible start in their careers, training or further education.”

The findings from the project will be shared with schools and colleges across the North East, as well as employers and training providers, enabling them to base their programmes and engagement with education on an accurate understanding of young people’s needs and ambitions.

The pilot project is part of the Department for Education-funded Opportunity North East, which is designed to ensure all pupils have the same opportunities to learn, develop and achieve success, regardless of their background or where they live. The pilot focuses on Challenge 4: too few young people find a pathway to a good career. The pilot is delivered jointly by the North East LEP and Tees Valley Combined Authority where a further 12 secondary schools are involved.

To find out more, contact Neil Willis on [email protected].

Universities have a vital role to play in helping the North East economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The work being delivered by North East universities is supporting new and existing businesses to innovate and grow, and shaping and supporting a more sustainable and inclusive economy.

Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, University of Sunderland and Teesside University are all members of the North East COVID-19 Economic Response Group, which was established by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to provide business resilience and ensure a collective response to the economic impact of COVID-19 on the North East economy.

Below is a case study about Durham University’s leading role in a national research project – Network-H2 – to decarbonise transport through hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and technology.

Road, rail, air and marine transport accounts for almost a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions making it a significant contributor to climate change. Hydrogen offers a clean and renewable alternative to fossil fuels and can bring significant environmental benefits to transport, society and the wider energy system.

Durham University is leading a national research project to decarbonise transport through hydrogen-fuelled vehicles and technology. Network-H2 brings together international experts from the energy, road, rail, air and marine transport sectors to support the decarbonisation of the whole transport network.

The project is looking at the technological, social, political and economic factors necessary to increase the use of hydrogen as fuel, and knowledge exchange between researchers and industry.

The energy sector has been identified as an area of strategic importance in North East Strategic Economic Plan. It provides huge opportunities to drive and enable regional economic growth, and North East organisations are creating wealth, skills, and jobs in the region by responding to national energy challenges and opportunities.

To find out more about Network-H2, visit www.net-zero-research.co.uk.

Matt Joyce, Regional Lead: North East Ambition at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), talks about the support available for young people who have had to make decisions about their futures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier this year, the country went into lockdown just as many young people were beginning to make important decisions about their futures.

For some students who are moving on from school or college and beginning the next stage of their education or starting work, this is a particularly crucial part of the academic year, a time when they will be talking to their school or college careers advisers, and other key staff, in order to decide what’s the best route for them and to get support applying for different opportunities.

That’s why the skills team here at the North East LEP has been working closely with schools and colleges in the region to support them at a time when it’s been difficult to deliver careers guidance in the usual ways.

Together, we wanted to make sure that young people – and also their parents and carers – are equipped with all the information they need to make informed decisions, even when they might not have been able to access the usual face-to-face support from their school.

A new website – jobopportunitiesnortheast.co.uk – now brings together information for young people and their families on the full range of options, from apprenticeships and university to the new T-Level qualifications which are rolling out from this year. In addition, it highlights how they can access further information, advice and guidance – from professionally qualified, trusted sources – if they need it.

It also includes the latest government announcements which affect young people, such as the new Kickstart Scheme, designed to help employers create six-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment.

Our aim is to help young people to realise their career aspirations and also to reduce the number who are at risk of not being in employment, education or training (sometimes referred to as NEET).

The new website also contains the latest job vacancies which have arisen across a range of sectors as a result of COVID-19 – ranging from vacancies with small businesses to new roles with large corporates like Sage UK – and guidance for business owners on workplace safety and adapting to post-pandemic working.

Over the next few months we’ll also be working with employers to see how we can create meaningful ways for students to gain virtual experiences of the workplace when traditional placements and visits to workplaces might be more difficult to arrange than they were pre-COVID. The use of new technology opens up a lot of possibilities and it’s vital that we make sure that links created between education and industry are not lost.

This all ties in with the broader work of the North East COVID-19 Economic Response Group, which is leading the region’s economic response to the pandemic, mitigating the impact on the North East economy, and readying the region for recovery.

One area of focus for the group has been keeping people in employment, and that includes looking at the impact of the pandemic on the cohort of young people who are taking their first steps into the world of work.

As well as our work with schools and colleges, we’re talking to employers about the skills they need from their workforce – including new starters who are fresh from education – and how things are changing for businesses as a result of the pandemic.

As ever, it’s the combination of schools, colleges and employers working together which will help each and every young person in our region to achieve their potential and successfully make the transition from education to the world of work – even now, during one of the most difficult years many pupils in our region will have faced.

Visit jobopportunitiesnortheast.co.uk to see the latest information for young people who are moving on from years 11 to 14, as well as job vacancies and guidance for employers.

In conversation with Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership

I’m delighted to share a new and exciting opportunity to join the North East LEP team as an Analyst.

This one-year fixed term role will help the LEP achieve its objective of creating more and better jobs here in the North East.

It’s perfect for someone analytical with the confidence to present and translate data into meaningful messages that will resonate with a wide number of people.

When in post, our new Analyst will regularly update the baseline analysis of the North East economy to inform the work of the LEP and any strategic documents we produce. They will also use toolkits to help us monitor the local economic landscape, including the impact of COVID-19 on our communities.

A key part of the job will be working with our excellent Skills team to develop a critical North East Local Skills Report for March 2021. Our new recruit will also update the baseline analysis of the North East skills and labour markets, to inform the work of the Skills Advisory Panel (SAP).

If you’d enjoy working with policy leads, analysts and other key partners across the North East LEP and Central Government to provide analysis and recommendations on the local skills system to feed into the local skills strategy, this could be the role for you.

All new team members are warmly welcomed at the LEP so if this sounds of interest, please find out more here.

An ambitious programme to establish and raise the standard of careers education in primary schools has made significant progress after just one year.

The Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot is a ground-breaking new project, which will raise the aspirations and broaden the horizons of North East primary school pupils.

An independent audit commissioned by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the EY Foundation has found in its first year of activity, the pilot has achieved its aims of translating and embedding the career benchmarks within primary school settings.

The report found the benchmarks are effective at helping schools to design and deliver career-related learning across all year groups, with schools designing and delivering a range of curricular and extracurricular activities across all key stages.

The pilot is running at 70 primary schools across two academic years (2019/20 and 2020/21) in all seven North East local authorities.

Funded by the North East LEP and the EY Foundation, the pilot aims to translate the eight Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks (GCG BMs) to primary school settings.

The Primary Benchmarks Pilot builds on the success of the LEP’s Good Career Guidance Benchmark Pilot in secondary schools and colleges. This pilot was recognised as transformational and the Government adopted the benchmarks as part of the National Careers Strategy.

Evidence shows that the pilot is making good progress in building the capacity of schools to deliver a consistent, comprehensive, and high-quality career education for all pupils, and that working towards a framework had a strongly positive impact.

Some 72% of schools that responded to the survey say that pupils are now aware of a more diverse range of career options, 81% that pupils better understand the links between what they are studying and future career options, and 89% that pupils are able to talk more about their career plans.

At least one school has fully achieved each of the eight benchmarks. There has been a levelling up during the first year, meaning that success is not linked to a school’s Ofsted rating. Covid-19 has had an impact on the pilot but it has not stopped progress.

Lucy Winskell OBE, Chair of the North East LEP, said: “It is wonderful that so much progress has already been made during the first year of our Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot.

“An effective early careers programme is vital as research has shown by the age of six, young people are beginning to form opinions about what they cannot do. By age 10 young people are beginning to make career limiting decisions, which solidify by age 14.

“The Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot aims to deliver sustainable improvements in the capacity of schools to deliver a consistent, comprehensive, and high-quality career education for all pupils that meet the standards of the benchmarks.

“In turn this should positively impact on student outcomes and school culture and show our young people that there is a world of opportunities available to them and anything is possible.”

Jodie McNally, Head of Young people Services at EY Foundation, said: “I am delighted with the progress made by the Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot. Over the next year, I’m looking forward to seeing further progress, with pilot schools continuing to achieve the Benchmarks. In addition, the development of resources and the creation of a ‘community of learning’, where schools share best practice, will be a great way to help pupils learn more about the world of work.”

Find out more about the Career Benchmarks Primary Pilot.

With the economic impact of COVID-19 hitting the headlines, a new project is underway to mitigate the effect on young people’s career aspirations and mental health. Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, tells us more.

With constant access to news and social media, it would be easy to think that the future looks bleak for young people who are beginning to think about applying for jobs, apprenticeships or further education.

At the click of a button, we can see endless reports and conversation about the impact of COVID-19 on the jobs market and the economy.

We know that many students spend upwards of six hours a day on social media* and one danger of this constant news cycle is that it could have a negative impact on young people’s ambitions and mental health.

While it’s true that we are facing huge challenges, and that many young people’s expectations have been turned on their heads, there is still good news out there and there are still opportunities for young people as they move on from school, college or university and look to the next stage of their lives.

As part of our region-wide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are beginning a new programme of work, looking at changing the narrative around the prospects for young people today.

While we in no way want to ignore the challenges, we do want to make sure that no one’s aspirations are lowered and that no one is discouraged from pursuing their dream job, apprenticeship, or college or university place. We want to make sure that young people in the North East hear about the support available, and to make sure that their questions, worries and opinions are being heard.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be finding out more about what young people are saying and working with employers to help young people understand the real picture around careers opportunities in our region.

What we already know is that there is optimism amongst young people.

The recent Unifrog report investigating the effect of the pandemic on students’ wellbeing found that, while students reported that the situation has had a clear impact on their education (with one in two saying the pandemic has negatively affected their motivation to study and do well), 70% reported feeling positive or optimistic about the future.

We also know that young people have skills and attributes that employers are looking for. Many are skilled in navigating digital tech and the online world, and many are flexible and can adapt quickly to new situations. This doesn’t just stand them in good stead when it comes to job interviews, but is also a valuable skillset for those who might choose the self-employment route.

During the last recession we saw the emergence of a wave of new businesses, many started by young founders. Promoting entrepreneurialism and letting young people know that self-employment is a viable route open to them is at the forefront of our work with schools and colleges, as we aim to make sure that all pupils in our region have access to top quality careers guidance. Again, we know there are challenges – young business leaders often find it difficult to access finance, for example – but there are start-up loans and financial support out there, and we can help young people to access it.

For those young people who are returning to school or college in September, we want to make sure that careers guidance is a priority and that it helps young people to explore the full range of pathways open to them including self-employment and non-traditional careers.

Working together with schools, colleges and employers, we aim to help young people understand that their skills are valuable, help them to choose the pathway that’s right for them, and help all young people to achieve their ambitions.

Find out more about the North East LEP’s works with schools, colleges and employers at www.northeastambition.co.uk.

*Findings from the Unifrog COVID-19 impact report, investigating the effect of the pandemic on students’ wellbeing and next steps.

Category: Skills

Ellen Thinnesen appointed to lead North East LEP’s Skills Advisory Panel

Funding on offer for North East employers to help young people into work

Colleges Week 2020

Innovative data-driven approach to shape careers guidance for young people in the North East

Universities support North East’s economic recovery: Network-H2

Moving on up: easing the transition from school to work during 2020

New role for an Analyst at the North East LEP

Ground-breaking careers pilot inspires primary pupils

Changing the narrative around prospects for young people