NECC Event Announced to Bridge the North East Skills Gap

The worlds of business and academia are being brought together at a conference aimed at addressing regional skills shortages.

The North East Chamber of Commerce has arranged the "Bridging the Gap" event to officially launch its 2012 skills report of the same name, which highlights skills gaps in literacy, numeracy and general employability among North East young people.

The report has been produced by NECC in partnership with Teesside University and Gateshead College, which is hosting the conference at its SASMI facility at Nissan in Sunderland.

Speakers from the College, University, Nissan and Simpson group will be among those addressing the conference, which will urge unity between the private and public sectors, universities, colleges and Government to ensure the region's workforce has the correct training to carve out a future in high growth industries such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

NECC also warns that failing to address this need will severely impact upon the future success of the North East as a world leading hub for these industries.

NECC Chief Executive, James Ramsbotham, said:

"A skilled workforce is the most critical contributor to the success and growth of a business. Put simply, businesses with skilled employees are likely to be more efficient, more productive and more sustainable."

The event will also feature round table discussions to address regional skills issues and offer solutions that would help strengthen the regional skills profile by focusing on key issues identified by businesses in the Bridging the Gap report, which are:

Funding: Reforms to current funding strategy to increase flexibility of skills funding
Education: Education system must increase work-relevance of teaching methods to meet basic skills level required by employers
Collaboration: Employers and providers need to work collaboratively to meet regional skill requirements.
Brokerage: Effective brokerage to allow businesses to make informed decisions about available training options

Mick Brophy, managing director for business, innovation and development at Gateshead College, said:

"Gateshead College is at the forefront of working with employers, delivering bespoke training to close the skills gap and provide them with a vital competitive edge in this tough economic climate.

"Our strategic training partnerships with leading employers like Nissan sees us train their workforce through apprenticeships and tailored training programmes to create a highly skilled team, enabling the company to secure its future.

"I'd urge as many businesses as possible to come along to this event to continue the debate on how we better bring education and business together to bridge the skills gap in our region."

Laura Woods, director of academic enterprise at Teesside University, said:

"We are fully committed to working in partnership with business and to boosting graduate employment prospects, and I greatly welcome this report and our involvement."

The Bridging the Gap report formed part of a national Workforce Study of 1,200 businesses nationally by the British Chambers of Commerce, which also highlights areas where current legislation hampers growth.

The event will take place on Tuesday 7th February, between 08.00-11.00am at Gateshead College SASMI facility on Nissan site in Sunderland.

To find out more about this event and to book your free place, please click here to book your place online