Tees ’should top list’ for fast-track academy
TEESSIDE’s creative and digital industries have welcomed news that the Government intends to fast-track the sector, with plans to create 5,000 apprenticeships by 2013 and establish an academic hub for 14 to 25-year-olds.
Mark Elliott, director of DigitalCity, Middlesbrough, which helps start-up and expanding businesses in the sector, said the announcement was not before time and that Teesside should go to the top of the list of potential hosts for a new academy. “There have been discussions about this kind of thing for many years. The idea of an academy is very welcome,” he said. “I would like to see it at the University of Teesside, or at the very least in the North-east.
“As one of the leading digital universities in the country, with a really good track record in training, the University of Teeside certainly should be seriously considered.”
Anthony Borsumato, commercial director of sports software development firm 13 Strides, in Middlesbrough, said: “Anything that promotes the industry in a positive light has to be good news. It may lead to the creation of more start-up companies.”
Creative businesses in the Tees Valley are set to generate more than 9,000 jobs in the next five years. Region-wide, the sector is worth £8bn.
