EEEEEEH!!!

Jan 23 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

That’s me being very excited this week for two reasons.

One, because my bosses are letting me out of the office and loose in London so I can cover the launch of the National Skills Academy for the Process Industries, which will be based on Teesside.

Two, because I am finally moving into my lovely new house in Middlesbrough!

Yes, after about eight months of house hunting I am finally leaving behind my rented house and joining the ranks of the mortgaged-up-to-the-eyeballs again!

All treats like new clothes every month, (even the ones from George at Asda and Primark, which are so cheap I convince myself I can’t afford not to buy them, and then end up spending four times my usual clothes budget) trips to the pub, and meals out are off, and have been swapped for domestic bliss.

So I had better make the most of my London visit and hope I manage to wangle some more freebie press trips, because I will now be consigned to nights and weekends in for the next 30 years until my mortgage is paid!

The launch in Westminster of the National Skills Academy for the Process Industries represents a very exciting time for Teesside.

The £10m academy, which will have a base at Teesside University, will deliver 8,000 extra NVQ qualifications and train an extra 800-900 apprentices across Teesside.

That reflects the exciting career opportunities opening up to young people, as major companies like Sonhoe choose Wilton to invest £2bn in a new crude oil refinery, and efforts to plug existing skills shortages in the sector result in attractive job prospects.

A host of other companies, like SABIC, Sembcorp, and members of the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) are welcoming the skills academy, which will really put the Tees Valley on the map and build on the skills and expertise we already have here.

It’s a great time for everyone to be proud to live on Teesside and welcome the dawn of a new era.

Sarah Judd is a business reporter at the Evening Gazette and will make an insight into life in the Tees Valley every week. See next week’s nebusiness.co.uk feature on the process industries