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Region-wide event looks to the future of North East careers education and guidance

Careers leaders and other professionals working in careers guidance from across the seven North East local authorities gathered in Newcastle upon Tyne last week to discuss making careers education and guidance in our region fit for the future.

Organised by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP), the North East Ambition Regional Careers Conference focused on changes to education and the labour market, new technologies, and helping young people develop the skills to be successful in this future world. It also addressed the role that careers guidance plays in catalysing economic growth in the North East.

Matt Joyce, Regional Lead: North East Ambition, from the North East LEP, said: “This is the only event of its kind in the region that brings together careers leaders and other key stakeholders from across the seven North East local authorities to focus on how we can support young people prepare for their future.

“It’s an important forum to share knowledge and best practice, look at careers provision on a pan-regional scale, and to make sure that the careers education and guidance young people are receiving is setting them – and our region – up for a successful future.”

Attended by careers leaders from schools, colleges and SEND schools, as well as stakeholders such as employers, governors and local authorities, the event included keynote presentations on the role of AI in education, the importance of personal guidance and the future of the jobs market in the North East. There were also updates on national policy and on practice within the North East.

Practical workshops on a diverse range of topics also shared best practice and equipped careers leaders with the tools and resources they need to deliver high quality careers education and help develop young people’s knowledge and understanding of the opportunities open to them and the skills they will need.

Ronald Burn, Head of Careers Education and Student Progress at Newcastle College, who attended the event, said: “These events provide an essential networking opportunity for careers professionals to get together and share best practice and build collaborative progression awareness of opportunities for our young people across the region.”

And Gareth McQuillan, School Improvement Adviser, North Tyneside Council, said: “It was great to see just how much is happening in the North East around careers and employer engagement.”

Matt Joyce added: “Top quality careers provision for young people is essential in helping them make decisions about their future, understand what opportunities are available in different sectors, and the range of routes into them.”

“And it’s essential that careers leaders and others working with young people are given what they need to support young people in their important decision-making. This is what will help us make sure our region has a pipeline of skilled and ambitious young people to take us forward.”

The North East LEP is supporting all schools and colleges in the North East to achieve the Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks by 2024 through its North East Ambition programme that provides year-round training, resources, updates as well as bespoke support for Careers Leaders, teachers, head teachers and governors.

Find out more about the North East LEP’s work to raise the standards of careers guidance in the region at www.NorthEastAmbition.co.uk.

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Businesses invited to help Gateshead pupils with special educational needs gain workplace skills

North East businesses are invited to take part in a games tournament, designed to help Gateshead pupils with special educational needs gain the skills they’ll need in the workplace.

Hill Top School in Gateshead has been working with Corrina Mulholland and Stephanie Smith from Gateshead Community Organisation to devise ways for its sixth form students to learn about careers and develop skills needed in the workplace.

Corrina and Stephanie have been partnered with the school through the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP)’s Enterprise Adviser network, which pairs business leaders with local schools to help improve careers education for young people.

“Pupils who have special educational needs don’t always get the opportunity to do a work placement, so we came up with the idea of a games tournament, which the students are organising, as a way for them to meet local businesses, gain confidence and learn new skills,” explained Corrina.

In advance of the event, pupils have taken the lead in organising the day, forming a board of directors, with responsibility for finance, marketing and catering.

On the day, the pupils will gain experience of serving food, welcoming guests and running the event, as teams compete in games of chess, draughts and dominoes.

“We’d love it if local businesses took part in the tournament, as individuals or as team,” said Corrina. “The event will help the school to build links with local businesses, and it’s an opportunity to make a real difference to Hill Top School’s sixth form pupils, as they prepare to move on from the school.”

Gateshead Games Galore takes place from 10am on Tuesday 20 June at Callendar Court extra care housing scheme near Wrekenton.

Businesses can register for a place at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gateshead-games-galore-tickets-644395834287 or by emailing [email protected].

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Your opportunity to shape careers education for students in the North East

By Denis Heaney, Enterprise Adviser Hub Lead at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership


It is quite common to hear employers expressing concerns that young people joining the workforce don’t have the skills businesses require, and recognise a disconnect between the skills they acquire through school, college and universities, and those needed by the world of work.

Thankfully, things are changing. There are more opportunities for industry to work in partnership with academia to influence curriculum development, provide workplace experiences, and educate young people about the careers opportunities available to them.

One of the most successful approaches has been the creation of the Enterprise Adviser Network; a group of passionate and dedicated business leaders that work with schools and colleges to bridge the gap between education and employment, and work with teachers and young people to deliver quality careers education.

Here in the North East, we currently have 191 business leaders in our Enterprise Adviser Network, but we’re looking to boost that number and partner more industry professionals with local schools and colleges.

One of the most common questions I get from businesses when speaking to them about joining the Enterprise Adviser Network is, ‘how much of my time will it take?’ Well the good news is, no matter how much, or how little, time you have available, we can make it meaningful. I think employers often underestimate the positive influence they can make by engaging with education. It doesn’t matter if it’s 1% of your time or 100%, the support we offer ensures your time is impactful.

Being an Enterprise Adviser is about bringing like-minded people together to make a difference in education. And how people choose to do that can be very different.

We’ve had Enterprise Advisers join the Board of Governors to influence at a strategic level, and we’ve also supported Enterprise Advisers to consult on careers programmes in schools. Some Enterprise Advisers have provided a mentoring role to teachers and students, whilst others have helped deliver curriculum-based projects. Whilst the pathways have all been very different, the end result is always the same; better careers education for students, which leads to better outcomes. 

An increasingly popular area of support is improving teachers’ understanding of industry by providing time in the workplace. Teachers – along with parents/guardians – are the biggest influencers when it comes to careers guidance. By helping teachers better understand the local economy, they are more equipped to connect learning to the world of work.

Our job at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership is to ensure the engagement businesses have with schools and colleges is as much about meeting business needs, as it is improving career outcomes for students. Employers have the opportunity to influence what teaching looks like, and how the curriculum can deliver the talent and skills they need to fill the jobs of the future.

I very much see the Enterprise Adviser Network as the vehicle for industry to engage with education.

If you or your business would like to find out more about joining the Enterprise Adviser Network and inspiring the next generation about the amazing career opportunities the North East, we’d love to hear from you. You can complete an Expression of Interest via our website – www.northeastambition.co.uk – or email [email protected].

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Career pathways for shortage roles

A new resource to boost skills in the region’s health and life sciences sector


Health and Life Sciences – Career pathways for shortage roles is a new resource designed to help:

  • Businesses working in the region’s health and life sciences sector address skills shortages for key roles
  • Education and training providers develop industry relevant curriculum
  • The wider industry grow and thrive in the North East.

It has been developed in response to the publication of the North East Health, Life Sciences and Medicines Manufacturing Strategy, which aims to double the number of jobs and businesses in the health and life sciences sector by 2030.


What is Health and Life Sciences – Career pathways for shortage roles?

A free online resource for businesses working in the North East’s health and life sciences sector, Health and Life Sciences – Career pathways for shortage roles outlines the basic and essential skills needed for six key roles where a shortage of appropriately skilled candidates has been identified. The six key roles are:

  • Analytical Chemist
  • Process Engineer
  • Software Engineer
  • Quality Assurance Manager
  • Lab Technician
  • Project Manager.

What help and support can businesses access?

Employers can see the education and training routes available in the region to allow them to grow talent into the six specific roles, including:

Education and training

  • Apprenticeships
  • T Levels
  • Further education.

Uptake of apprenticeships and other vocational qualifications is very low in the health and life sciences sector.

The resource uses existing good practice and occupational maps from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to identify better ways to utilise apprenticeship funding and advancements in technical education to develop talent into the six key shortage roles.

Education contacts and courses

Businesses can access information on local education contacts as well as training and courses relevant to each role.

Case studies

Employers can also read case studies about local employers who have successfully adopted the education and training routes outlined in the resource to increase workforce development.


What support is available for education and training providers?

Insight to develop an industry relevant curriculum

In addition to supporting employers in the region with recruitment challenges, the new resource also provides information on skills shortages in the sector, which education and training providers can use to inform the development of an industry relevant curriculum and inform young people about career pathways into in the sector.


How do I access the resources?

Visit the Health and Life Sciences – Career pathways for shortage roles resource.

Visit the North East Health and Life Sciences Sector Careers Toolkit.

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Success for Opportunity North East Careers Pilot

A ground-breaking pilot has demonstrated the importance of targeted and personalised Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG) in improving post-16 destinations for young people.

The two-year pilot project, led by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), was part of the Department for Education’s (DfE) Opportunity North East programme and commitment to improve education and boost productivity in the North East.

Overall, 28 schools were involved – 16 in the North East LEP area. Each school identified up to 30 pupils identified as having an increased risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).

Many of the pupils involved were from a disadvantaged background or had special educational needs, both indicators of being at higher risk of becoming NEET at the end of Year 11.

The LEP developed and commissioned an intensive and targeted offer of personalised advice and guidance for young people in each ONE Vision school to help them to make the best of their strengths, interests and aspirations, aiming to improve the destinations of these young people at the end of Year 11.

At the end of the project, the young people involved knew more about how to find a good career; they had a greater focus on their chosen sectors; and they had clear plans on how to achieve their goals.

The project saw a 113% average improvement across the 12 key areas of underpinning careers-based knowledge, while the percentage of students with no “vision” of their future career sector fell from 13% to 6%.

An increase in the number of pupils with a post- 16 plan increased from 75% to 98% and some 97% of students are predicted to be in education, employment or training.

In addition, an overwhelming majority of the young people involved in the project reported being happy in their chosen post-16 destination.

Neil Willis, Regional Lead for Education Challenge at the North East LEP, said: “One of our underlying aims was to show that CEIAG needs to be targeted and personalised which is particularly important for pupils that are associated with being at risk of becoming NEET. Pressures on the current system can make this approach challenging in schools.

“For many students, if they don’t get on the right footing at the end of Year 11, it can impact on their progress in future life so ONE Vison enabled us to test an approach to address this.

“We have demonstrated that regular contact with a careers adviser, coupled with accurate data recording and highly-personalised interventions, leads to significant increases in a student’s capacity to make the informed decisions needed to secure a good career pathway.

“As well as improving destinations for young people, this also delivers considerable wider economic and social benefits.”

Nationally, young people who become NEET are likely to experience a range of other negative outcomes, triggering wider economic costs over £77,000 each in direct lifetime costs to public finances and over £144,000 in wider lifetime costs to the economy and wider community.

Every percentage point reduction in NEET pupils across the 15 ONE Vision secondary schools has the potential to save public finances £1.85million and over £3.46million in wider lifetime costs to the economy and community.

The findings of the pilot, which was supported by the Oxford University Careers Service, will be shared with the DfE, local authorities and careers education leaders.

The Opportunity North East report can be viewed here.

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In conversation: Louise Kempton and Kim Smith

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

How did this project come about?

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

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

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

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

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

What is the main aim of the research?

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

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

What will the research involve?

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

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

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

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


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

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

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


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Using labour market intelligence to make better career decisions

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

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

Why is labour market intelligence important?

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

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

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

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

How can we make best use of labour market intelligence?

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

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

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

Improving LMI and the evidence on what works

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

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

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

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


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National Careers Week 2022 keynote speakers announced

The line-up of keynote speakers has been announced for this year’s National Careers Week launch event, which takes place online and in person on Monday 7 March.

The theme of the event is ‘You’ – how you as a careers leader, educator or employer can support young people to take control, explore, learn, and believe in their futures.

We’ll explore themes including:

  • how to make best use of labour market information,
  • building partnerships between business and education,
  • equipping young people with the skills employers need,
  • and helping them to see the opportunities open to them.

And throughout the event, we’ll hear from young people about their own experiences of careers guidance and their plans for the future.

Keynote speakers

The event will be hosted by Lucy Winskell OBE, Chair of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.

Victoria Sutherland, Head of Evidence at the What Works Centre for Local Economic Growth will then give an insight into how factors including COVID, digitalisation and the drive to reach net zero are changing the job market and opportunities for young people.

Sarah Glendinning, Regional Director of the CBI, will focus on building closer links between employers and the curriculum.

Michelle Rainbow, the North East LEP’s Skills Director, will explain what’s been happening in the North East to improve careers guidance, and the impact it’s having on young people.

The North East LEP’s Education Challenge Regional Lead, Neil Willis, will share how schools and colleges in the North East are forming partnerships with employers to raise the standard of careers guidance.

Ellen Thinnesen, who is Chief Executive of Education Partnership North East which comprises City of Sunderland College, Northumberland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form, and Chair of the North East LEP’s Skills Advisory Panel, will talk about the changing skills landscape and why it is so important we understand and act on this.

And the Founder of National Careers Week, Nick Newman, will discuss how good careers guidance has the power to change lives.

The National Careers Week launch event headline partners are Natwest Group and NHS Health Careers.

If you’d like to join us, either online or in person at Newcastle Crowne Plaza, book your free place now: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/national-careers-week-launch-event-2022-118579

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National Careers Week 2022 launches in the North East

This year’s National Careers Week will be launched in Newcastle upon Tyne, in recognition of pioneering work carried out in North East England to raise the standard of careers guidance for children and young people. Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), explains how businesses, schools and colleges have worked together to pilot new ways of delivering careers guidance.

The North East LEP is delighted to be co-hosting the launch of this year’s National Careers Week. This is the first time this event has been held in the North of England and is recognition of the outstanding work of our partners across the region.

This is a fantastic chance for careers leaders, educators and employers to share best practice and knowledge on improving careers guidance. We are honoured to be joined at this year’s launch by representatives from HM Government — an excellent opportunity to show off the incredible work happening in careers guidance across the country.

After last year’s virtual event, we’re very pleased to invite people from across the country to this in-person launch. Attendees will also be able to participate online and this hybrid model has been one of the positive learnings of the last two years. You can book your tickets for the in-person or online versions now.

National Careers Week celebrates the power of careers guidance to change lives. It transforms students’ futures, from better attainment in school to social mobility, with broader horizons and raised aspirations.

Careers guidance is central to our strategic plan at the North East LEP and we are proud of the hard work of our team, developing innovative approaches with schools and colleges.

We also recognise that change takes time. There is no quick fix to establishing the support and opportunities young people need. Improvements are hard-won and incremental over the long term. And we still have a long way to go. So National Careers Week is an invaluable opportunity to learn from challenges and build on achievements.

This year’s theme is “you”. At the launch, our morning sessions will focus on how you — as careers leaders, business leaders, educators and parents — can support young people to make informed choices about their future.

Sessions will cover the importance of understanding the labour market and how careers leaders can integrate this into the curriculum. We will look at ways to build sustainable and meaningful employer engagement with schools and colleges.

There will be a session on opportunity awareness and how to help students understand the full range of pathways open to them and where they lead. And we will also hear from young people about their experiences starting careers and developing skills for today’s economy and for the future.

In the afternoon, everyone is welcome to attend our regional career event and learn more from our schools and business partners.

Each day over the rest of the week we will take up one of these four themes and celebrate achievements here in the North East. Schools and colleges will host events alongside campaigns, videos and articles — offline and on social media.

Everyone is invited to join the conversation using #NCW2022 and you can visit the National Careers Week website to download toolkits to promote your involvement.

The National Careers Week 2022 launch event takes place on Monday 7 March from 9.30am until 12.45pm. Attendees can join via Zoom or in-person at the Crowne Plaza in Newcastle upon Tyne city centre.

More information and tickets are available here.