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North East teachers forge links with engineering sector

Every year, Tomorrow’s Engineers Week inspires the next generation of engineers, letting young people know about the career opportunities available within the engineering industry.

In the North East, as part of an event organised by the North East LEP, EngineeringUK, Unipres UK Ltd and STEM Learning, a group of STEM subject teachers were invited behind the scenes at Unipres to gain an insight into the career paths on offer to their students.

Moira Shaftoe, Employer Support Manager (NE) at EngineeringUK said:

It’s great to have Unipres on board as part of the Tomorrow’s Engineers North East employer Network. Tomorrow’s Engineers Week shines a spotlight on engineering careers in a way that young people may have never considered before.

We understand the importance of taking teachers on that journey too, many of whom have limited knowledge about the exciting career opportunities available in the sector. We aim to inform teachers about the routes into and relevance of STEM subjects to those careers and how to maximise the potential of engaging with an employer to help bring the STEM curriculum to life. Participating in the event at Unipres will enable teachers to use the experience to enrich the teaching and learning of STEM subjects in school and contribute to the development of their wider careers strategy.

The teachers attending the event were all from schools which are part of the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks project which is being piloted in the North East. One of the benchmarks of the project, which aims to improve students’ transition from school to work or further study, is encounters between schools and employers and employees.

As well as a behind-the-scenes site tour of the Unipres Sunderland plant, which manufactures steel components used to form the internal structures of cars, the teachers heard from the company’s HR Manager and Apprentice Coordinator, who spoke about routes into a career in engineering or advanced manufacturing.

Rob Dodds, Apprentice Coordinator at Unipres UK Ltd, said:

We’ve been working with Moira as an active partner of the Tomorrow’s Engineers employer network for a couple of years now. We have a strong outreach programme that extends across the region, inspiring young people of all ages about careers in engineering and manufacturing and career opportunities within our business. The event we hosted during Tomorrow’s Engineers Week provided teachers with an opportunity to explore how they can make use of the Unipres resource, and wider network of local employers, by integrating employer engagement into the curriculum.

The day also included a presentation from a teacher who had completed an Insights into Industry placement, and time for attendees to plan how they will use their findings when they return to the classroom.

Chris Bryant, a teacher at the King Edward VI School in Morpeth, said:

This event will help me to build careers learning into the curriculum. Having links with employers makes a big difference to being able to use real world situations, companies and people to allow students a more thorough understanding of their future opportunities.

Moira Shaftoe added: “We want to help make young people aware of the variety of opportunities there are in the engineering sector, especially in the North East which is home to world-leading engineering organisations. We plan to work with more companies in the region, helping to build and nurture relationships between teachers and employers.”

Find out more about Tomorrow’s Engineers

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Today’s employment figures: Sustained job creation and falling unemployment

Richard Baker, North East Local Enterprise Partnership Head of Strategy and Policy, said today’s Office for National Statistics employment data continued to demonstrate a longer term picture of positive labour market performance in the North East.

“Employment in the North East now stands at another record high this quarter at 1.215 million people, that’s 51,000 more people in work than 12 months ago,” said Richard.

“The rate of growth in the number of people in employment in our region is growing faster than the English average both over the last quarter and the previous year, which is very encouraging.

“We are continuing to narrow the employment rate gap with the English average.

“Today’s figures also show that the number of people out of work has fallen again, by 20,000 in the three months to September and nearly 30,000 fewer people in unemployment now compared to one year ago.

“We are also seeing a continuation in the rise of permanent jobs for both men and women which is encouraging.

“It remains a concern however that the number of people economically inactive is rising.

“The reasons for this are unclear from this data but could be related to a fall in the number of people in self-employment in the North East over the past year, in contrast to the national trend, and unstable jobs.

“This requires further investigation into what is a complex picture. Our concern is to ensure that the quality of employment opportunities continues to improve.”

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Success of North East LEP’s Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot recognised at industry events

Thanks to the huge success of the North East LEP’s role in delivering the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot, Ryan Gibson – National Facilitator for the Career Benchmarks Pilot at North East LEP – has been invited to speak at a number of regional and national events in November to share some of our key learnings from the project.

The North East LEP region is the first in the country to pilot the National Career Benchmarks – developed in partnership with the Gatsby Foundation – that Government is expected to announce will form part of new statutory guidance for schools in delivering careers advice.

Sixteen schools and colleges in the North East LEP area are currently taking part in the national pilot, which comprises of two years’ intensive careers activity with schools, colleges and local businesses as well as four years of data collection, gathered and analysed by an independent evaluator.

Ryan will be speaking at the following events in November 2016:

National Careers Education Summit in London
3 November

Ryan will be joining Sir John Holman, who first developed the National Career Benchmarks in partnership with the The Gatsby Charitable Foundation, to deliver the event’s keynote address.

Bridging the gap between education and employment event in Newcastle
4 November

Ryan will be sharing his experience of how the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot as created a framework for high quality engagement between business and education.

SEN Careers Conference in Reading
9 November

As special guest of the event, Ryan will reinforce that the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot has been transformative for schools, colleges, businesses and young people.

National Conference for Careers Leaders and Advisers in York
10 & 11 November

Speaking at the event on Thursday 10 November, Ryan will be discussing the positive impact of the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot on schools and colleges.

LMI Event in Durham (with the National Careers Service)
17 November

The wider North East LEP skills team will be speaking at this event to share details on the refresh of the North East LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan as well as the ongoing success and impact of the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot.

Practice sharing event with the Edge Foundation
22nd November

The 16 schools and colleges taking part in the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot will be joined by schools from Nottingham, Knowsley, Crewe and London to share good practice at this event delivered in partnership with the Edge Foundation.

Northern Independent Schools Network Meeting for Heads of 6th and Careers Leads
23 November

Ryan will be delivering a workshop about the National Career Benchmarks with a focus on the North East LEP’s role in delivering the successful pilot.

Department for Education visit
29 November

Members of the Careers team at the Department for Education will visit some of the North East LEP’s pilot schools as part of a visit to see, first hand, the success of the Gatsby Career Guidance Benchmarks pilot in the North East LEP area.

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£2m Port of Blyth Training Centre opens

The Duchess of Northumberland has opened the latest phase of a wide ranging development at the Port of Blyth dedicated to the provision of education, training and opportunities.

Once famous for coal, the port is now a leading offshore energy base in the North East and has this week opened the doors to a £2m training centre designed to prepare the UK port services, offshore and renewable energy workforces of the future.

The second phase of a development known as the Blyth Education and Community Hub (BEACH) sees the Port partner with award winning training provider Port Training Services, Newcastle University, Northumberland College and other regional partners.

Whilst the development offers Newcastle University students the use of state-of-the-art research facilities including the Emerson Cavitation Tunnel Laboratory, the centre will also host landmark renewable energy related training courses from Northumberland College – some of the only course of their type available in the UK.

Port of Blyth’s training subsidiary Port Training Services is to develop its offering of NVQ’s and plant training, while enhancing its delivery of apprenticeships and community engagement through a thriving schools partnership and an innovative tie in with the Blyth Tall Ship charity, who deliver training and create opportunities for local young people not in education or employment.

Whilst all partners in the project have committed notable funds to the development, this latest phase of the hub has attracted significant funding from the Coastal Communities Fund, North East LEP and Sport England.

Martin Lawlor, Chief Executive of Port of Blyth, said: “We’re delighted that the Duchess of Northumberland was able to join us again – having opened phase one of this development – to launch a second phase that will offer the people of Blyth, South East Northumberland and beyond significant opportunities for training, education and ultimately employment”.

Phase one of the Blyth Education and Community Hub, which opened in 2014, delivered a maritime heritage centre, an Engineering and Marine Science base for Newcastle University as well as a new facility for the training and community outreach charity Blyth Tall Ship and striking home for the Blyth Boathouse restaurant. Investment in phases 1 and 2 totals £3.5m.

Part of the project’s funding – £400,000 – was from the North East LEP as part of the North East Growth Deal from Government. The Local Growth Fund supports major capital investments to promote innovation, economic and skills infrastructure and sustainable transport across the North East LEP area.

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Hands-on training accelerates career opportunities for Nissan apprentice

A former A level student is urging young people to consider apprenticeships as way of realising their career ambitions after finding his own success through the hands-on training route.

Nissan apprentice, Stephen McCarron, 20, from Wallsend, has shown that despite widespread perceptions that apprenticeships are less valuable than a degree, they are in fact a great way to fast-track your way into a highly skilled job.

Stephen started a five-year apprenticeship in September last year after completing A levels at Burnside Business & Enterprise College and then deciding the academic route at university to become an engineer wasn’t for him.

He is now working his way through a course that is helping him to fine tune his skills in everything from electrical installation, electronics and circuits and mechanical work to welding and computer aided design (CAD). All while earning a wage and taking the opportunity to develop softer employability skills to help him make the move from education into the workplace.

Stephen, who is completing the course at Gateshead College’s Skills Academy for Automotive, Engineering, Manufacturing and Logistics at Team Valley in Gateshead, said: “I’ve always wanted to train as an engineer and after gaining good grades at A level, thought that university was the only option for me. I soon decided that the academic route was too focused on theory and that I’d like to work more on my practical skills.

“Taking up the apprenticeship is the best career move I could have made. I’ve progressed far quicker than I would have doing a degree and an added bonus is I’m earning a wage while doing it.”

Judith Doyle, principal and chief executive at Gateshead College added: “Moving on to university after studying A levels is not for everyone and some people are more suited to learning in the workplace rather than spending the majority of their time reading textbooks. That’s why it’s vital to provide young people with clear, impartial and valuable career advice to help them pick the right career path.

“While university can be a valuable experience for some, we want to put the message out there that there are some fantastic apprenticeship opportunities open to those who want to fulfil their career ambitions. It’s not just academic learning that can get you higher level qualifications or help you to secure a highly skilled, prestigious job. Apprenticeships allow you to earn a wage while getting that all important work experience under your belt as well as highly desirable qualifications.”

Gateshead College’s careers advisors provide friendly, impartial and expert advice on which learning path is right for you. For more information, call call 0191 490 2245 or visit gateshead.ac.uk

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Free event: Go Digital to boost your international sales

Do you want to increase your international sales online? UKTI’s “Go Digital to Boost Your International Sales” free taster session is full of top tips, case studies and practical examples to help grow your business.

Download further details of the event here: UKTI Digital Marketing Taster Session July 21 2016.

Presented by UK Trade and Investment, (UKTI), in partnership with Norma Foster Associates and Business Durham, this workshop will show you ways to win more international business online and develop your digital skills to create an action plan for success.

For more information, contact Sue Beverley, E-Commerce & Digital Trade Adviser on 07966222258 or email: [email protected]

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Ground breaking project to build professional skills in construction sector

Unique North East England initiative to develop new careers and skills

A dynamic private sector led partnership in North East England is working with education to develop a new way of attracting talented young people into construction.

The innovative skills and careers programme, a first for the UK, is set to shake up the traditional way people are recruited and trained in a sector which shapes towns, cities and communities.

A powerful partnership of designers, builders, and project managers who operate in the ‘built environment’ have come together to campaign for change, to address the skills gap while also creating more valuable people through a new architectural engineering and management programme.

PlanBEE (Campaign for Change in the Built Environment) was launched by Ryder Architecture in 2013 and the campaign now also includes the support of Arup, Brims, Cundall, Desco, Esh, FaulknerBrowns, Napper Architects, Sir Robert McAlpine, Summers Inman, Surgo, Turner and Townsend, Xsite, 3eConsult, NELEP, RICS and ICE. Further partners are joining.

They have joined forces with the region’s leading further education organisation, Gateshead College to help devise a new way of recruiting and training young people for a career in the construction sector.

The new higher skills apprenticeship programme will be formally launched at Ryder’s home at Cooper’s Studios, Newcastle on July 25, 6pm-8pm.

Mark Thompson, managing partner at Ryder, said: “We’re delighted to have Gateshead College on board, alongside a number of universities. The facilities and staff at the college will provide valuable support throughout the course, ensuring cohorts receive the right balance of quality in-house educational content and hands on training with our business consortium members.

“We believe PlanBEE will inspire a new generation of bright, talented people to consider a rewarding career in construction. The blended learning approach, which includes residential elements alongside traditional day release, aims to deliver work ready graduates with the creative, practical and entrepreneurial ambition the industry needs to evolve.”

Gateshead College has devised an outline programme that gives new recruits a broader set of skills to ensure greater inter disciplinary working across the construction industry. Chris Toon, deputy principal at Gateshead College, explained: “This is a genuinely exciting and innovative programme we’ll be offering people from this September.

“It’s a great example of how Gateshead College is taking its strong links with regional employers, listening to their concerns and then working in close partnership to find innovative solutions for complex issues. You have to be responsive and that is how we work.”

Employers across the sector have increasingly felt that current qualifications and degree courses are no longer fit for purpose; there needs to be a greater convergence in the skills traditionally sat within the disciplines of architecture, engineering, surveying and construction.

Meetings between Gateshead College and businesses have fine-tuned the higher skills apprenticeship programme that launches this autumn. The programme provides study and off the job training at the college’s modern construction facility on Team Valley with a job working with some of the region’s leading companies.

It has been tailored specifically for and by the North East construction sector. It provides students with a starting salary of £10,000 per annum, a professional qualification and a guaranteed job opportunity on graduation. The degree stages will be provided by a regional university starting in 2018.

The college and PlanBEE are also liaising with a regional university so students can study up to degree level. Chris Toon added: “Gateshead College is delighted to be able to offer young people interested in the construction industry a new way to build a career in this dynamic sector. It’s a real alternative to full time education where you have the opportunity to study up to degree level whilst earning and coming out with no debt but with a job offer – it’s an exceptional way to progress your career.”

For more information about the programme, contact [email protected] or visit www.joinplanbee.com

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Transforming careers guidance and the impact on social mobility

Ryan Gibson, Facilitator for the Career Benchmarks Pilot at the North East LEP, gives his thoughts on the recent House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility report.

The House of Lords Select Committee on Social Mobility released a report on Friday 8 April that argued that young people who do not go to university are ‘overlooked and left behind’.

It suggested students leave the education system without the skills necessary for
work and life and more should be done to ‘improve careers guidance and advice for young people’.

Baroness Corston, Chairman of The Select Committee on Social Mobility, was interviewed on BBC News and said “…schools, employers, FE Colleges and LEPs have no means of working together, and they should have.”

Whilst I don’t disagree with the report’s contents or the recommendations outlined by the Committee, I – like many of my colleagues in the North East – were surprised there was no mention of the innovative work the North East LEP is doing with the Gatsby Foundation to transform careers guidance not just here in the region, but across the country.

The North East LEP, in partnership with the Gatsby Foundation, is currently piloting the National Career Benchmarks; eight clearly defined benchmarks for good career guidance, that when implemented, will improve students’ transition from school to work by allowing them to make fully informed decisions about their future.

The eight benchmarks are:

1. A stable careers programme
2. Learning from career and labour market information
3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
5. Encounters with employers and employees
6. Experiences of work places
7. Encounters with further and higher education
8. Personal guidance

The pilot is already moving apace. Only last week we awarded the first of our partner schools funding to begin work on their innovative ideas to improve careers education.

Of the recommendations outlined in the Select Committee Report, I’m proud to say many of these are already being addressed in the North East LEP region.

The need for ‘professional careers guidance that is independent of schools or colleges, delivered face-to-face, helping them to choose their individual routes forward’ is something we’re addressing through the benchmarks, which require schools and colleges to ensure that ‘every student should have opportunities for guidance interviews with a careers adviser…trained to the appropriate level…and be available whenever significant study or career choices are being made…timed to meet individual needs.

Another recommendation from the report is ‘young people need careers education in schools which is embedded into and fits alongside the curriculum and is informed by labour market information.’ Again, this is something we are helping to facilitate in the North East through the Enterprise Adviser initiative, strategically linking business leaders with schools and colleges across the region, in mutually beneficial partnerships, to help bridge the gap between education and the world of work. We already have the support of a number of education and business organisations and the Department for Education are working very closely with us.

There are other key recommendations the Benchmarks are delivering on, including the importance of work experience and our work, here in the North East, suggests there is no single ‘magic bullet’ for transforming this agenda. Rather it is about doing a number of things, identified within the eight benchmarks of good career guidance, doing them consistently, doing them well and doing them for each and every student.

Together with partners in Government, education and the business sector we are hoping to bring about significant change to the quality and delivery of careers education in the England and I’m happy to report the collaboration needed to make this happen is beginning to take place. Whilst there is still work to be done, we are starting to see the indications of impact already.

Ultimately this project is about helping young people make fully informed decisions about their future by better connecting them to information, advice and opportunities so that they can be inspired about their future, improving the pathway to work and delivering business growth. I take it as a positive that here in the North East we are already addressing many of the recommendations outlined in the Select Committee report.

If anyone has any questions about the Gatsby National Career Benchmarks Pilot, please feel free to contact me via [email protected].

Ryan Gibson
Facilitator for the Careers Benchmark Pilot at the North East LEP

To read The Select Committee report on Social Mobility in full, click here.

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Pilot schools share over £50,000 for innovative careers guidance projects

First bids approved for North East LEP/Gatsby National Careers Benchmark Pilot

The first North East schools leading a pilot programme have received more than £50,000 between them to help fund their innovative ideas to improve careers education – ideas that could be used across the country if they prove successful.

The proposals are part of the Gatsby Foundation National Career Benchmarks Pilot led by the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (North East LEP).

The projects are being funded by Lord Sainsbury’s Gatsby Foundation as part of a four-year national pilot running in the North East LEP area to test eight benchmarks of good career guidance.

North East schools and colleges were selected to test how the benchmarks can be implemented, identify any barriers to helping young people make more informed decisions about their future study and employment, and ensure that young people are better equipped with the skills employers need.

Sixteen schools and colleges in the North East LEP area are taking part in the national pilot and the findings will be rolled out across the country at the end of the project.

A total of £53,100 was approved in the first round of awards from the Innovation and Activity Fund. Pilot schools and colleges were asked to submit their innovative ideas to further develop careers education in collaboration with employers and other education providers.

Ryan Gibson, National Facilitator for the Career Benchmarks Pilot at the North East LEP, said: “There is a real buzz around careers education in the North East LEP area. Lots of schools and colleges are using the benchmarks and making an impact on good practice at a national level.

“The Innovation and Activity Fund is supporting schools and colleges that are already participating in the pilot to develop innovative practices, systems and processes that help schools and colleges to make measurable and rapid progress towards achieving the benchmarks.

“Successful projects are those that are able to demonstrate increased partnership working, enhanced collaboration, potential wider benefit, replication and scalability.

“We’re looking for projects that use an innovative approach to address particularly challenging issues, identified by initial audits against the benchmarks. Solutions can then be tested and potentially rolled out across the country.”

The first three grants will fund projects from St Joseph’s Catholic Academy in Hebburn, Churchill Community College in Wallsend, and six schools and colleges in the newly-formed Labour Market Information working group.

The project led by St Joseph’s will look at how employer engagement programmes such as the Careers and Enterprise Company’s and North East LEP’s flagship Enterprise Adviser Programme can be successfully integrated alongside existing provision.

The project will concentrate on benchmarks targeting meaningful encounters with employers and employees and multiple experiences of workplaces.

St Joseph’s will produce a best practice guide detailing how a school can map its current provision and what it must do to effectively integrate employers across the school. This guide will be made available to every school and college in England via the North East LEP and the Gatsby Foundation.

Churchill Community College in North Tyneside will work with Northumbria University’s Multidisciplinary Innovation Unit to explore creative ways of schools and colleges providing high quality work related experiences in challenging financial environments. A series of recommendations will be made, with the most appropriate being tested by the school.

The Labour Market Information project, a collaboration between six schools and colleges, will spend two months working with young people to explore how they currently access information about job sectors, apprenticeships, vacancies and pay and how they would like to access this in the future.

This research will form a case study that will be used by the national ‘LMI for All’ data portal and will inform future thinking about how young people and their parents get better help to access important information about future career opportunities.

The national pilot, including the projects funded through the innovation fund, will be independently evaluated by the International Centre for Guidance Studies, led by Tristram Hooley, at the University of Derby.

Future funding windows will be looking for pilot schools and colleges to work in partnership with other organisations to enhance school/college ability to achieve the benchmarks and improve careers guidance provision.

The Career Benchmarks were drawn up by Professor Sir John Holman after visiting the Netherlands, Germany, Hong Kong, Finland, Canada and Ireland, as well as a selection of UK schools, which have strong international reputations for careers guidance and educational results. The benchmarks for creating good careers guidance are :

  1. A stable careers programme
  2. Learning from career and labour market information
  3. Addressing the needs of each pupil
  4. Linking curriculum learning to careers
  5. Encounters with employers and employees
  6. Experiences of work places
  7. Encounters with further and higher education
  8. Personal guidance