Skills Archives - Page 6 of 11 - North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Students and teachers at Newcastle’s Excelsior Academy have been using applied learning to strengthen the links between schools and employers.

Holly Knox, Assistant Principal of Hadrian School at Excelsior Academy, talks about the school’s recent visit to the Port of Blyth and how it has helped students to apply classroom learning to real life.

We took two groups of our year 7 and 8 pupils to The Port of Blyth as part of their current project about renewable energy. The pupils have been focusing on the themes of renewable energy and climate change, and this visit to the Port of Blyth helped them to see some real-life applications of what they’ve been learning as well as being an opportunity to find out about STEM careers in the energy sector, which is one of the main growth sectors in the region.

Although we’re based in Newcastle, just a few miles from the sea, some of our pupils had never been to the coast before and many of them didn’t know that renewable energy equipment like wind turbines are developed and tested here in the North East. We wanted our students to be able to see for themselves how the North East plays a key part in the renewable energy sector, to find out about the different people who work in the sector, and to think about their own futures and the types of careers they might be interested in.

On the day, we had a tour of the Port, met people who worked in different jobs within the organisation, and we were able to see the technology and machinery in action, including the equipment which is used to dig the trench for the cable that stretches along the seabed all the way from Blyth to Norway. We also completed a hands-on challenge where pupils built their own mini wind turbines and competed to see which group could generate the highest voltage.

They came away enthused and excited about what they’d found out, and absolutely buzzing about what they achieved in building the mini turbines. The visit really inspired them and some of the equipment they saw in action was beyond anything they’d imagined.

Everything we did on the day linked with what we’ve been teaching in the classroom and back at school, the students are continuing to talk about what they learnt on their visit and connecting what they’ve seen with what they’re learning. Every day they are asking questions linked to the visit and we’re reflecting together on what we saw and heard, and what we now know about renewable energy in the North East.

It really was quite empowering for both the pupils and the staff involved and we will be repeating this project with our next cohort of students and we hope to build on this connection we now have with the Port of Blyth.

Holly Knox, Assistant Principal of Hadrian School at Excelsior Academy.

Excelsior Academy is one of three North East schools taking part in a pilot of project based learning.

Project based learning is designed to make learning in the classroom relevant to the world of work, embed careers information into the curriculum and equip young people with skills for 21st century careers.

It is part of the North East Local Enterprise Partnership’s Education Challenge and delivered in partnership with Edge Future Learning. It draws on a model developed by Ford Next Generation Learning in United States who are sharing their experience and expertise.

Find out more about the Education Challenge programme.

Paul O’Neil, an Apparel Coach from Nike’s Royal Quays store in North Tyneside, worked with Churchill Community College in Wallsend to help pupils work on a project in which the science curriculum has been taught through the lens of what it takes for a person to complete the Great North Run.

The project is part of the North East LEP’s Education Challenge programme, working with employers to apply learning to real world context to improve outcomes for students.

Year 7 pupils at Churchill Community College have been working on a project exploring what it takes for a person to complete the Great North Run. They’ve spoken to orthopaedic surgeons about the human body, they’ve met the millionth person to complete the run, and I visited the school to talk about being active and using the right running equipment to help improve performance and prevent injury.

At Nike, one of our founding principles is to help create the future of sport by supporting young people aged 4 to 14. We have a community ambassador at every store and are encouraged to get involved with the community, whether it’s working with schools or providing volunteers at the local Junior parkruns, which we do every Sunday.

This was a great opportunity to speak to the students about running and encourage them to find out more about health and keeping active. We know that children start to make choices about their life when they’re aged about 7, and if they’re active at that age, they’re far more likely to continue to be active throughout their life.

During science lessons, the pupils at Churchill Community College had been learning about nutrition, injury and the human body and I built on this by talking about how the correct equipment can help reduce the risk of injury as well as helping you to keep safe, for example by using reflective equipment at night.

We also discussed factors that help to improve performance for runners and the visit involved hands-on activities for the pupils to take part in. I talked about my role at Nike as well as some of the other careers that exist in the sector such as product design.

The pupils were so engaged and excited and I think they have got a lot out of this project. Some people learn by doing and this way of learning caters to different learning styles, allowing pupils to learn in a hands-on way and see how what they learn in school relates to the world of work and wider life.

I was invited back to the school to see a showcase of the pupils’ work, bringing together everything they’ve learnt, including their own trainer designs, and it was great to see everything they’ve learnt during the project come together.

Paul O’Neil, Apparel Coach, Nike Royal Quays.

Churchill Community College is one of three North East schools taking part in a pilot of project based learning.

Find out more about the Education Challenge programme.

Since it launched in 2016, more than 2.2 million people have signed up to use the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s apprenticeship service.

The award-winning online platform has helped over 17,000 levy-paying employers take control of their apprenticeships and make better decisions for their organisation.

The good is news all employers in England, whether they’re levy-paying or not, will soon have access to all the benefits of the apprenticeship service. The Education and Skills Funding Agency has decided to open it up so any employer, big or small, can choose how they want to manage their apprenticeships and make them work for their business.

Previously, non-levy paying businesses only had access to certain areas of the platform, for example, the find an apprenticeship service. Now they’ll be able to take full advantage of all the services on offer, including greater choice of quality training providers, more control over how they pay for that training, and how they access and recruit apprentices.

The transition of non-levy paying businesses onto the full apprenticeship service will take place over the course of this year with a selection of employers and partnered providers invited to test the service.

I hope all North East businesses take full advantage of this exciting change. Providing more apprenticeship opportunities will help improve skills across the North East, boosting the economy and creating more and better jobs.

To find out more visit www.gov.uk or sign up to receive apprenticeship email alerts.

Visitors from across the UK and as far afield as Hong Kong have been in the North East to learn how the region is leading the way improving careers education for young people.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, explains how developing closer links between schools and employers is having a positive impact on outcomes for pupils.

This month the North East LEP skills team has hosted visitors from the UK and Hong Kong, with the aim of sharing what we’ve learnt about embedding engagement with employers into the classroom and improving careers guidance for young people.

A delegation of representatives from Hong Kong’s education sector joined education specialists from Rhondda Cynon Taf Education, Employment and Training team in Wales on a two-day visit to the North East. The aim of the visit was to share what we’ve learnt about working with schools, colleges and local employers to deliver outstanding careers education to each and every young person in our region.

We also hosted a visit from colleagues from across the country as part of our role as Cornerstone Hub partnering with the Careers & Enterprise Company. Our hubs not only support North East schools and colleges to achieve the benchmarks but we also have a role to play nationally, learning from and supporting Careers Hubs in other regions in implementing the benchmarks in their own regions.

The North East is leading the way in careers education and employer engagement. In 2015 we were the first region to pilot the Gatsby Career Benchmarks in schools and as a result we demonstrated the huge impact these benchmarks can have in schools and on outcomes for young people, really helping pupils to understand how what they learn in the classroom applies to their future careers.

The benchmarks have now become part of Government’s national careers strategy, meaning that schools and colleges elsewhere in the country are keen to learn from the North East LEP about how we have engaged schools and colleges with the benchmarks and how we continue to support their delivery.

We have also established a successful Enterprise Adviser programme, partnering North East schools with business leaders who volunteer their expertise to help shape careers education and strengthen the relationship between our education and business sectors.

Our visitors from Hong Kong and Wales visited Studio West school in Newcastle and Harton Academy in South Shields to meet staff and students and hear first-hand about the difference this employer engagement and the Gatsby Career Benchmarks have made to them.

I’m extremely proud the North East is recognised nationally and internationally as an example of best practice in delivering careers guidance. It’s testament to the impact the Gatsby Career Benchmarks have that so many countries across the world want to match our success.

This success is down to the hard work by our schools and colleges but also the time and expertise that has been given by North East businesses, who have been instrumental in helping us to drive forward our skills, employability and inclusion programmes which are vital to improving life for people in the North East.

Find out more about the North East LEP’s work with schools, colleges and employers in the region.

What age were you when you started to think about what you might do as a career? 15? 18? Possibly even older?

Would it surprise you to know that children have their first career aspirations aged two to four years? By age five and six, children are already beginning to narrow their choices based on their gender, and by age ten many young people have already made career limiting decisions, which are fixed by age 14.

It’s for these reasons and more, the North East Local Enterprise Partnership, working with EY Foundation, is launching the Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot – a brand new initiative to build careers aspiration and inspiration from an early age.

We know, first hand, the transformational impact good careers education can have on young people. The North East LEP led the Good Career Guidance Benchmark Pilot in partnership with 16 secondary schools and colleges from across the region, which led to government launching new statutory guidance for schools on how to deliver careers education, with the Gatsby Career Benchmarks at its very heart.

Through the Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot, we want to translate the Benchmarks so they meet the needs of primary schools, and then test them in action. Do they improve student outcomes, do they support primary schools in delivering high-quality careers education for all students, and can the approach be replicated in other areas of England?

We’ll be working with 70 primary schools from across the North East LEP region as part of the two academic-year pilot. Each school will have the support of a Facilitator, to help them implement and achieve the benchmarks, an Action Researcher to capture the impact, and be part of a community of Primary Careers Leaders, helping to deliver a shared vision for achieving the primary benchmarks.

Our partnership with EY Foundation and the team’s enthusiasm, expertise and financial support has been fundamental in making this happen. From the very early conversations, it was evident that EY Foundation understood what we were trying to do and why this pilot has so much potential to improve social mobility. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with the team and the Foundation’s Trustees, and we are so excited to kick start the activities within the 70 schools across the North East.

As an independent charity, EY Foundation helps young people overcome barriers to gaining fulfilling employment. One way they do this is by building close relationships with hundreds of employers, who provide young people with skills training and opportunities to find out more about the workplace.

The Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot forms part of North East Ambition, which is our commitment to improve social mobility by supporting each and every young person to make informed decisions about their future careers. We can do that by ensuring young people have meaningful encounters with a broad range of employers and understand the link between the subjects they study in school and the career opportunities available to them. It may sound simple, but it’s a huge culture change for many schools. We need to ensure careers education is viewed as important as curriculum-based learning, and that it’s embedded across the entire school.

Improving skills and social mobility is central to the North East LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan to boost our economy and create more and better jobs for people living and working in the North East. We want young people to be aware of the opportunities available to them and aspire to achieve their full potential, whatever their circumstances.

Regular updates about the Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot will be made available on nelep.co.uk and northeastambition.co.uk. You can also contact us with any questions via [email protected].

By Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East Local Enterprise Partnership

The Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot is supported by funding from the European Social Fund, EY Foundation and the Local Growth Fund.

In February the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) published the updated Strategic Economic Plan for the North East. The Plan, which lays out the roadmap for creating 100,000 more and better jobs for the region by 2024, has been updated to reflect progress made since its initial launch in 2014, and to take account of changes in the economic landscape.

North East LEP Skills Director, Michelle Rainbow, talks through some of the changes you can expect to see when it comes to supporting skills, employment, inclusion and progression in the North East.

We have revisited the Strategic Economic Plan for a number of reasons. Changes to the economy both nationally and globally and of course the changes which lie ahead of us, including Brexit and the opportunities that could be available to us through the Industrial Strategy and global opportunities, mean that we chose to lay out how we will continue to work towards achieving our ambition of creating more and better jobs.

The updated Plan makes clear links to the development of the North East Local Industrial Strategy, which identifies how we will make the most of our particular strengths to maximise productivity and improve standards of living for people here in the North East, and how the region will make an important contribution to the overall UK Industrial Strategy.

In the updated Plan, the skills programme and the employability and inclusion programme have been brought together into a combined skills, employment, inclusion and progression programme. The work we do in this area is all about progression and improving social mobility in the North East. It’s about supporting people as they make transitions throughout their lives and careers, whether that is school pupils learning about the world of work and further education, people preparing to return to the workforce later in life, or graduates who are choosing where to live, work and stay after university. It’s all intrinsically linked and the updated Plan reflects this.

Our focus is on all age groups and circumstances and our programme of work will help us achieve our long term ambition for the North East: that demand for skills and the quality of jobs continue to improve, leading to higher productivity. We want individuals, regardless of age or employment status, to have a good understanding of employment opportunities available and how to access them, we want to continue to strengthen links between employers and education, and we want everyone to understand the importance of skills in raising productivity and living standards.

You will see a cross-cutting theme of digitalisation throughout the Plan. If the North East is to continue to compete on a national and international stage then it’s vital that digitalisation and digital skills are embedded across our businesses and communities. As we move into Industry 4.0, our workforce and our young people must have access to the digital skills and related opportunities this fourth industrial revolution will bring.

Alongside our board we have advisory boards made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, the voluntary sector, trade unions and business representative organisations including the CBI and Chamber of Commerce. Our advisory boards have valuable experience in each of our focus areas of industry – energy, digital, health and life sciences, and advanced manufacturing – and in innovation, business growth, and employability and skills.

The guidance of our board members and our advisory panels becomes ever more important as we continue to deliver the SEP and the Local Industrial Strategy, and we will make use of their expertise and our close working relationships with partners across the North East to deliver on our ambition of creating more and better jobs.

Read the North East Strategic Economic Plan.

Can you tell us about FDisruptors and why the company was established?

I’ve had a 25-year career in marketing and growth strategy, working with some amazing companies and talented people. Quite a lot of those were very male dominated though; women were few and far between, and so I have always understood the challenges that women can sometimes face when they enter into male dominated industries.

A few years ago I started to have conversations with my teenage daughters about where they wanted their lives to go and sadly they did not seem to be talking about tech at all – I became really conscious that if young women didn’t look at tech as a serious career opportunity they could be left out of some of the most exciting industries and innovations that we have ever seen.

When I set up FDisruptors I didn’t want to build something women didn’t want or need. I felt strongly that it was time that we started a different narrative around tech – a narrative where we showed them the magic of tech and the impact they could have in the world if they jumped on board. So I designed a pilot programme of learning and gave them access to opportunities to help to build their confidence and primarily to shift their perceptions on technology and their perceptions of what they were capable of. It was the best four months of my career to date and it formed the basis of what has now become the new FDisruptors platform.

Is there more organisations could be doing to encourage young girls and women into the tech sector?

Storytelling is key, that’s really important. Young people and young women engage with authentic stories. They want to hear about real people – people who have changed careers or failed and got back up, or taken a new unexpected path and succeeded – or sometimes not.

It’s also important to hear from women who have done it in lots of different ways and from women from lots of different places – we need different voices, opinions and backgrounds. Storytelling resonates because a girl will see that and think – if they can do it, I can do it too.

A confidence gap still exists too. To inspire girls, and make them think they can, we need to work on self-belief and confidence as well as equipping them with real world skills for a very new world of work. We cannot drive more women to choose a career in tech without giving them the tools to also thrive within that industry – if we do that then you will not only see more women in tech but they will also be driven by purpose, and will be armed with talent and skills that will absolutely transform tech across every industry.

Are any succeeding in making a change?

I’m talking to more and more companies that are very intentional in their desire to invest in diversity, which is very positive. However, it’s not just about changing the language in a job description; it’s about a layered approach. We have a huge challenge ahead of us and culturally it’s a big issue to unpick. Ultimately a more diverse workforce is good for business, good for your culture, makes you a much more appealing place to work and makes it a more interesting place to work. It also ensures that you are building products or developing services that more truly reflect the customers and communities that you serve. So there really is no excuse for not integrating diversity into your workplace – it is essential to running a successful business of the future.

What’s been your personal experience as a women working in the tech/creative/digital sector?

Overall it’s been great but of course there are some challenges. Having worked in other industries that are also male dominated though I have to say that I don’t think tech is the only industry that has challenges with diversity and the promotion of women to leadership positions.

On a personal note I was surprised to experience ageism when I was initially raising finance for FDisruptors. There can be an assumption that the majority of people developing tech platforms are young and that is absolutely not the case. Tech is the single most accessible sector in which to develop a business or a career regardless of age, background, ethnicity or gender. I just need to be armed with my creativity and a laptop and the rest is up to me – no restrictions, no limitations. If we truly want to attract more diversity into tech then we have to challenge stereotypes at all levels and quickly.

What are the barriers to women pursuing a career in STEM?

I think many women have a perceived stereotype of what a person in tech looks like. It’s a white guy; a maths genius or physics geek and they’ll be coding at a computer all their life.

When we have presented tech to girls in the past it has been a bit one dimensional – presenting only code clubs means that they only see one part of the picture. There is so much more to tech careers and being a tech entrepreneur, and it is absolutely vital that they get to see much more variety surrounding those pathways and the role models within tech across every sector.

There is definitely still a confidence gap too – it has been proven that confidence in girls experiences a huge dip during the ages of 8-15. This is key, as it is right at a time when they are expected to make some of their biggest decisions around study and careers. During my pilot programme we saw the positive results of leading with confidence training – ultimately if we can change the lens through which a young women sees herself we can change her outlook on what she believes she can achieve.

What role does education have to play in supporting more women into STEM roles and employment?

Schools have a huge part to play, and their role as influencers around careers have really come under the spotlight in the past few years as highlighted by the Gatsby Report. Ultimately, we are working with schools to help them to be able to equip their students with the skills that are absolutely needed from the workforce of the future. That is two fold for us – firstly we need to work together to get better about encouraging girls to take STEM subjects but more than that – we need to get better at helping them to visualise how they will progress into a STEM related career as without this context the stats show that even girls who do choose STEM will still not enter into this field.

It is also about delivering tech skills to every single young person, regardless of their chosen career, so they are more equipped when they join the world of work. Tech should be integrated across the curriculum giving us the best possible chance to send fully fledged digital citizens out into a world that is now digital by default.

I had a really amazing conversation with a head teacher recently about how they want to create more alternative pathways for young people – she said it was time to look at students as individuals and who they are right now, so they could provide better careers advice and not only drive students towards Universities but support them into a much wider variety of career options. This kind of approach is great to see, but it will require much more support and funding for careers in schools if we have any hope of integrating it in this way.

Who are your female role models in the STEM sector?

For me, I love people that are doing things quietly but brilliantly.

There is a fantastic free app on the market called Clementine, which is designed by women for women. It’s all around confidence, self-belief, reducing anxiety and focusing on sleep, meditation etc.

I also love people like designer Stella McCartney who is reaching out and collaborating with tech in a way we’ve never seen before. She has worked with Bio Tech pioneers, Bolt Threads, on a project to create ethical, sustainable fashion using science and new technology. It’s a brave and bold move but it is so exciting to see pioneers coming together to produce something new and unique that might just change the way our clothes are made and ultimately save the planet.

There’s more information on the FDisruptors website.

To mark International Women’s Day (Friday 08 March), we spoke to Erika Leadbeater, Operations Director at leading engineering company TSG Marine, about gender balance and her experience of being a leading female figure in the North East business community.

International Women’s Day this year is focused on building a gender-balanced world. What do you think we can do here in the North East to improve gender equality?

We need to focus on promoting the benefits of inclusive workplaces. We need workplaces where difference is celebrated for the positive impact it can bring to an organisation; both in terms of a positive workplace culture but also ultimately bringing commercial success.

In this ever-changing world innovation is a necessity. Innovation requires creativity, and creativity needs new ideas, which more often than not come from different points of view. You will only get that diversity of thinking in organisations if your workforce has a diversity of experience.

That diversity of thinking has been key to the success of our business, TSG Marine. The value we bring to our clients comes from us looking at things differently; always seeking to find quicker, safer and more cost-effective solutions.

The North East is leading the way in a number of sectors due to our innovative approach. I think that is due to a willingness to embrace change and meet challenges head on. We just need more of that approach, which will in turn reinforce progressive mindsets and inclusive behaviours throughout the region.

Have you ever experienced discrimination during your career because of your gender?

I assume equality in every situation. I have always found that to be an effective and positive way to approach life. I also strongly believe that we cannot control the actions of others, but we can control our own reaction to those actions. The knowledge that I always retain the control of my reaction gives me strength and resilience.

Would you consider the engineering industry to be male-dominated, and if so, how can we encourage more women to join the sector?

Historically, not enough women have considered engineering to be the interesting, challenging and rewarding career that I know it to be. I think that is in part due to the variety of careers in engineering not always being appreciated and also a lack of understanding that a career in engineering will allow you to continually develop your skills.

I did not go directly into engineering. I did law first, working in a large law firm before starting at TSG Marine as a Contracts Manager. Over the years my role has developed and now I am Operations Director. My job still involves reviewing contracts, but it now has a wider business focus.

However, the point is I am not an engineer; but I do work in engineering and I could not now see myself doing anything else. It is such a vibrant and interesting industry. That is because the sectors that the engineering disciple underpins are constantly progressing. For instance, at TSG Marine we started in the Oil & Gas industry and now we are firmly in the emerging Energy Sector. That is exciting, I love working in an organisation that is constantly looking for opportunities to improve the way things are done.

What advice would you give to other women interested in working in the engineering sector?

Value your difference. Having a new or alternative point of view is a strength, you just need the confidence to demonstrate that strength.

Be curious. Engineering is a progressive discipline; you should always be looking to learn and develop your skills, you will only do that by being inquisitive.

Have you been inspired by any female leaders in business?

I am inspired by both female and male leaders. The people who inspire me the most are often not the best well known, but the ones who are courageously approaching issues, such as gender, positively and authentically.

I recently read an excellent book called Dare to Lead by Brené Brown. I was inspired by Brené’s work as it is honest and it makes leadership accessible. She is striving to create braver leaders and courageous cultures. The book sets out that we all have a part to play in promoting change, and it reminded me that one of the central skills of a good leader is curiosity.

I think the most inspirational leaders are those who positively encourage and actively facilitate open conversations on difficult issues, conversations where people feel safe to ask questions and test their own opinions. In my view these are the leaders that effect real change.

The North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is expanding its Skills team to increase the reach of its work with schools, colleges and education providers across the North East. Michelle Rainbow, the North East LEP’s Skills Director, explains what’s in store.

2018 was an incredibly busy year for our Skills team here at the North East LEP. We spent the year working on both a regional and a national basis, building the foundations of our Skills strategy and working towards the interim aims laid out in the region’s Strategic Economic Plan (SEP).

One of these aims was to put in place our Fuller Working Lives programme, working with employers to boost their numbers of older workers and to make sure that those in our workforce who are older are supported, whether they want to pursue a new direction or continue in their career.

We aimed to roll out the Good Career Guidance Benchmarks, which form a clearly defined framework for good careers guidance, to every secondary school in the North East and we wanted to partner every secondary school with an Enterprise Adviser – a business leader who volunteers their expertise to support schools and colleges in shaping the delivery of careers education.

Another major aim was to begin the ground-breaking Education Challenge programme, including working with three North East schools to pilot a new, project-based model of learning which places employer engagement at the heart of the curriculum.

In the area of technical education, we aimed to work with providers to develop world class technical education and apprenticeships to match the requirements of our growing and emerging sectors.

I’m proud to say that we achieved all of these aims and more. And to help us work with even more schools, colleges and education providers in 2019, we have recently welcomed seven new people to the North East LEP Skills team. It’s my hope that by mid-2019 we will have recruited another 10 members of the team to help deliver our ambitious plans for this year.

It’s a period of rapid expansion, which will enable us to have a wide scale regional impact. By the end of 2019 we will be working with every secondary school in the North East and we will be increasing the scope of our work with primary schools, helping to raise children’s aspirations from a young age.

We’re building on our engagement with the Further Education, Higher Education and Technical Education sectors as well, supporting organisations in responding to changes in policy and working closely with partners like the CBI and North East Chamber of Commerce.

Over the past three years we’ve put foundations in place that form the basis of a robust Skills strategy for the North East. We’ve carried out pilot projects and learnt from all the work that has been carried out so far.

Now we’re building on what we’ve learnt and we are actively pursuing opportunities to expand our reach across all our programmes so that we can support even more schools, colleges, employers and educational organisations.

Our long term vision for the North East is that it is a place where individuals, regardless of age or employment status, have a good understanding of the employment opportunities available in the North East and the pathways to access them. We want employers to have strong links with education and training providers and we aim to continue working with partners to highlight the importance of skills in improving productivity and living standards for everyone in the North East.

Find out more about the North East LEP Skills strategy.

Tag: Skills

Newcastle pupils partner with Port of Blyth to put learning into action

North Tyneside pupils learn what it takes to complete the Great North Run

In conversation with Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East LEP, about new, improved changes to the apprenticeship service

Sharing North East skills practice internationally

In conversation with Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East LEP, about the launch of the Career Benchmarks: Primary Pilot

A refreshed plan for delivering more and better jobs in the North East

In conversation with Debbie Edwards, CEO of FDisruptors, about women in STEM

In conversation with Erika Leadbeater, Operations Director at TSG Marine

Expanding the reach of the North East Skills Strategy