Recruitment Archives - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Research by the Open University and the British Chambers of Commerce shows that 73% of UK organisations are facing skills shortages.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP) explains how workplace learning can help businesses overcome shortages, and shares details of support on offer for businesses in the North East.

Evidence tells us that, nationwide, businesses are finding it difficult to recruit the skilled staff they need. And we know this is an issue for firms here in the North East as well.

How can businesses take practical steps to overcome these problems?

The recommendations given by the Open University and the British Chambers of Commerce include exploring how apprenticeships and higher technical qualifications – including T Levels – can help you plug skills gaps and create a culture of lifelong learning in your business.

For businesses based here in the North East, there is good news: we have free, expert support on offer to help you find out how apprenticeships and T Levels could work in your business, and free tools and resources you can use to put them in place.

If you’d like to take advantage of this offer, your first step should be to sign up to two events which are coming up next week, during National Apprenticeship Week 2024.

Firstly, on Tuesday 6 February, we will be holding a free webinar where you can find out about Early Connect: a Department for Education project for apprenticeships which is being piloted in three English regions – including here in the North East. It’s a brilliant opportunity to get extra, practical support with delivering apprenticeships and advertising your vacancies to young people. You can sign up to attend the webinar here.

On Thursday 8 February, our focus will be on T Levels, which can be a way for your business to attract tomorrow’s workforce. You’ll hear from organisations which are already offering T Level industry placements, we’ll tell you about the free support on offer and you’ll leave with tools and resources for your business. Make sure you sign up for this webinar here.

If you’ve been struggling to address recruitment and retention within your business, there is help on offer. Don’t miss out on support for your business.

Find out more and sign up to attend Why an apprenticeship makes good business sense on Tuesday 6 February here.

Sign up to be at How businesses are attracting top talent through T Levels on Thursday 8 February here.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is looking to recruit new private sector Board Members, who have a strong connection to and knowledge of the North East and its economy and who can provide a significant contribution to the creation of more and better jobs.

This is an important time in the economic development of the North East as businesses face both challenges and opportunities. We are looking to appoint new Board Members with a strong business background, who have experience of building effective relationships across all sectors, understand the important role of the public sector and have the motivation to fully commit to and represent the North East LEP on a regional and national scale.

These are significant Non-Executive Director positions in terms of public profile, responsibility and accountability to the community. The role brings with it professional rewards, with contact with Government officials and Ministers, and the opportunity to shape interventions that will make a difference to the people and businesses of the North East. Board members are advocates for the North East and for the successes of the LEP to date and in the future.

Board Members will:

• Inspire confidence in the business community, government, the seven Local Authorities and two Combined Authority, investors and all other key partners and stakeholders, that the LEP understands the needs and opportunities of business and can effectively articulate these into strategic economic policy and delivery.

• Provide an authentic and respected voice of business on behalf of the LEP Board, Members and Executive Team on matters of economic strategy and growth – to Government, partners and to the media.

• Fully and effectively contribute to the Board to reach balanced and informed positions on key issues.

• Work closely with the senior LEP Executive, so that there is a unified and coherent approach to all LEP matters, that fully utilises the LEP Executive expertise.

• Represent the LEP and the wider business community on sub-boards or other regional structures as appropriate.

• Promote the North East LEP region as an outstanding location to invest and grow and to directly encourage and stimulate investment in the region.

• Work with the LEP team, combined and local authorities and regional stakeholders to proactively support transition arrangements set out in the Levelling Up White Paper and LEP Review.

We anticipate that you will be a senior business leader with a high profile in the North East or a connection to the North East, and someone who is genuinely motivated and driven to make our area an even better place to live, work and stay. If you are interested in joining a progressive and vibrant LEP then this may be the role for you.

For more information and to apply for the role please click here to download the recruitment pack. The closing date is 9am on Friday 26 August.

For the North East to grow a modern, diverse and entrepreneurial economy it’s essential we continue to understand the industrial structure of our region, the performance of the regional business community and the makeup of our workforce.

We do that by accessing data, research and insights, which we then translate for colleagues here at the LEP and partners across the region. It provides us the evidence base we need to make informed decisions to drive growth in the North East economy.

Throughout the past eighteen months, the research and analysis team at the North East LEP has had an increasingly important role to play and we know that role is only going to become more prominent. The UK’s exit from the European Union and the coronavirus pandemic has seen high demand for accurate and timely data as will the strategy and policy work that informs our recovery

Because of this, we’re expanding our team to include an Economic Analyst. The new role within our team will ensure we can continue to provide our partners in business, government and academia with the insight to lead our region’s economic recovery.

As a small team, we’re looking for people that share our passion for building a stronger North East economy using a robust evidence base. We’re looking for someone who is naturally inquisitive and can identify areas for further exploration, for example opening up new data sources and exploring innovative datasets such as social listening.

Communicating our evidence activities in a clear and accessible way is vital for them to be effective – especially as we work across a range of sectors and industries. We’d welcome applications from experienced analysts with an interest or background in data visualisation too.

The North East LEP is a collaborative organisation and we work very closely with colleagues and partners across the region. We are therefore looking for people that enjoy working as part of team and have experience of building relationships with internal and external partners. This is one of our four core values which are embedded into everything we do. These values are Think Bigger, Better Together, Do the Right Thing and Make a Difference.

We’d like to work alongside someone that can help bring data to life and really demonstrate how it impacts people living and working in our region.

More information about the role can be found here. Interested applicants should also visit northeastdatahub.co.uk to see some examples of the research and data we gather about the region.

This is an exciting time to join the North East LEP, particularly in the research and analysis team. The economic strategies and policies being developed to lead the region’s economic recovery are all underpinned by strong research, economic analysis and evaluation.

For an informal discussion about the role, feel free to contact me directly by emailing [email protected].

Find out more about the Economic Analyst role and apply here

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.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership is currently recruiting for two new full-time roles, to help us deliver more and better jobs in the North East.

First is a fixed term contract for an ESIF (European Structural Investment Funds) Programme Manager.

The successful candidate will work with partners and raise awareness of the 2014-2020 ESIF programmes across the North East.

This will include running regional events to promote the launch of project calls, coordinating and supporting local partners with their local ESIF events, and supporting local partners in the development and management of a robust pipeline of ESIF projects that will support the delivery of the ESIF Operational Programmes, the North East LEP area ESIF Strategy and the Strategic Economic Plan.

To apply for this position or to find out more about the role, please click here. The closing date for applications is Friday 24 June.

We are also currently recruiting for a permanent Skills for Business Manager to join the new North East LEP executive team.

The successful candidate will take the lead in identifying what businesses within the North East require both now and in the future for businesses and the economy to grow. The post holder will work with business and education providers to design and implement a demand led skill strategy.

To apply for this position or to find out more about the role, please click here. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 29 June.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Tag: Recruitment

Free support to tackle your business’s recruitment and retention issues

Are you an inspirational business leader with a passion for the North East of England?

Emma Ward – Research, Evidence and Analysis Programme Manager – discusses the new Economic Analyst role at the North East LEP (applications close 17 June, 9am)

New role for an Analyst at the North East LEP

Come and work at the North East LEP