Formula for success

Nov 13 2007 by Sarah Judd, Evening Gazette

TEESSIDE University will provide the base for a National Skills Academy for the Process Industries, the Evening Gazette can exclusively reveal today.

The academy, which will be vital in overcoming desperate skills shortages in the sector, will benefit from the vast experience of process industry employers in the region, coupled with the university’s academic and vocational approach to engineering and science.

The Government confirmed the creation of the new academy last week, which has so far had its base at Wilton.

Headquartered in the heart of the Tees Valley, what will this new organisation mean for Teesside and the UK process sector?

It aims to deliver up to 8,000 extra NVQ qualifications and train an extra 800-900 apprentices across the region.

New recruits are vital, not only to the industry on Teesside, but to the economy across the whole of the North-east, as the region battles a looming skills crisis.

According to NEPIC, Teesside is currently the fastest growing location for the process industries.

But with about £7bn of investment set to come here in the next eight years, providing the next generation of process industry employees is key.

Today SARAH JUDD looks at what the new academy - which puts Tees Valley’s world-leading industrial talent firmly on the map - means for Teesside.