Member Spotlight: Education Development Trust – Early Connect
Date published:
This week we caught up with the team at the not-for-profit education organisation to find out how they’re going further with Chamber membership.
Where are you based?
We cover the North East region!
How many employees do you have?
We have 2 people in our team!
Give us a brief overview of your business.
Early Connect is a government project for apprenticeships.
Created by the Department for Education, the project aims to increase the number of 18-year-olds starting apprenticeships across three regions of the country; the North East (NECA region), Greater London, and Lancashire.
Here in the North East, we, the Education Development Trust, are supporting the North East Combined Authority in delivering the project across our region. We aim to support both employers and local apprenticeship seekers. We’re supporting businesses to consider apprenticeships as a recruitment method and assisting them to set up an apprenticeship vacancy. Alongside this we are also supporting young people to understand, find and apply for apprenticeships with local employers.
The service is currently available until October 2025 and will provide employers with early access to talent in Year 13 (those leaving school or college in summer 2025). We would love to speak to any business/employer that would like to take on an apprentice, have previously taken on an apprentice or has a general recruitment need.
Please reach out to the Education Development Trust team via: [email protected]
Tell us about a recent business success.
In the first year of the project we have engaged 200 local employers both , large and SME businesses, with Early Connect. We also had 180 young people sign up to our support service, from which we guided those focusing on apprenticeships to vacancies with local employers.
How has being a Chamber member impacted your growth and networking opportunities?
Being a Chamber member has allowed me to network with other professionals and organizations across the North East region. Additionally, the AGM meetings have enabled me to focus closely on each Local Authority and align our work with the needs and challenges of the region.
The Chamber has played a large part in generating awareness of the Early Connect pilot.
Where can we find you?
You can visit our website: https://www.edt.org/ or on our socials below: