Why it has never been more vital to improve our skills

Jan 15 2009 by Chris Knox, The Journal

With the current rate of redundancies in the region showing no signs of slowing, there has never been a more important time to gain new qualifications as a way of avoiding the cull. Christopher Knox looks at a Government-funded initiative that is doing its bit to provide new skills to the region’s workforce.

THE North East Higher Skills Pathfinder (NEHSP) was launched two years ago to help forge stronger relationships between the North East’s business community and its universities and further education colleges in order to provide local firms with an affordable solution to the skills crisis.

The North East suffers from a bigger skills gap than most regions, with the NEHSP pointing to Government figures which show that productivity is 80% of the national average and that the achievement rate at GNVQ Management Level 4 is 26%, compared to 31% for the rest of the country. With the Government expecting a national average of 45% by 2020, it is clear that the region has a big leap to make in a relatively short space of time.

With this in mind, the NEHSP believes that it can play a vital role in helping to improve the skills of the workforces of the region’s businesses as well as prepare it for when the markets improve.

As well as promoting the advantages of training among the region’s employers, the NEHSP works alongside businesses and higher education authorities to create bespoke training programmes which cater for the needs of individual workforces as well as those in the surrounding business community.

One example is Hartlepool College of Further Education’s relationship with the region’s logistics industry. It is currently developing a management foundation degree for the sector.

Firms including Billingham-based Nicholson’s Transport, Middlesbrough-based AV Dawson, and Stockton firm Stiller Group are acting as consultants for the course after the college received £30,000 from the NEHSP in 2007 to help it improve its training offering to local businesses.

Darren Hankey, head of division for higher education and management studies at the college, said: “There is high demand for a foundation course in this area and we are currently working with the region’s logistics industry initially to find out exactly what they want from it.

“When we received the funding it was just the beginning of the credit crunch, so we had no idea that things would get so bad.

“Now, with the way things have gone and the many redundancies that have been made, it’s even more important that universities and colleges push on with these courses so that employers can improve the staff that they have in order to protect their futures.”

In 2007, Newcastle College, through its relationship with the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC), identified a need for suitably trained and skilled technical and engineering staff within the pharmaceutical sector.

After surveying the needs of the sector, the college worked with the NEHSP to create two foundation degrees for laboratory technicians and process engineers as well as a Good Manufacturing Practice course in partnership with County Durham-based Quantum Specials, which provides access to its clean room facilities to allow trainees to get a feel for the laboratory environment.

Karl Woods, HE manager for business engagement at the college, said: “A number of pharmaceutical companies were coming to us and saying that not enough trainees had the practical knowledge they were looking for. This is why the use of Quantum Specials’ clean room is so vital.

“As well providing funding, the NEHSP worked to help put us in closer contact with the pharmaceutical sector in order to develop a training programme which suited its needs.”

Last month saw the NEHSP bring together representatives from the North East’s five universities as well as representatives from a number of higher education colleges to discuss what is required to take the NEHSP programme forward in 2009.

Over 100 delegates at the meeting, held at the Newcastle Falcons rugby stadium at Kingston Park, agreed that even greater collaboration between universities and colleges was needed, as well as improved dialogue between employers and education providers if the North East’s business community was to fully benefit from the training opportunities.

Hilary Day, NEHSP regional business development manager, said: “Our aim at the North East Higher Skills Pathfinder is to inject new resources and direction to the higher skills choices available to business. Whatever the business and whatever the product or service, colleges and universities in the region can advise on how higher skills might benefit the business and develop higher level courses to support particular business needs.

“Particularly in the context of global economic downturn, the time is right to make investment in staff a priority, to secure business into the future.”