Employers are working together to retain graduates

Jan 22 2008 By The Journal

Employers are helping to make the North-East an increasingly attractive option for graduates keen to pursue their careers, writes Nicola Payne.

A RECRUITMENT firm recently announced the North-South pay gap has widened to an average of more than £10,000 per year.

From a financial perspective, it therefore seems all too easy to see why the North, and the North-East in particular, struggles to retain graduates and talented young workers. Frustratingly, it is the very retention of an educated, qualified and skilled workforce which helps to raise average salaries and enhance the economy of an area, something the North-East desperately needs.

As an alumnus of Durham University who settled permanently in County Durham, I was saddened to see almost all of my graduating class leave for the South East, each firmly believing career progression and decent salaries could only be found in London. In my view, this misconception had been exacerbated by the scarcity of local employers at college and university career events.

However, since I graduated in 2004, I believe perceptions are changing as local businesses and regional organisations have started to market themselves – and the North-East – better.

One such organisation, the Association of North East Councils, is committed to enhancing the prospects of young people and to encouraging graduate retention in the area. In October, the association launched its Careers in Councils campaign at a skills event in Newcastle for more than 8,000 young people, their parents, teachers and carers. I was one of a number of officers who discussed career options within local government to young people from schools across the region.

North-East councils are, collectively, the region’s largest employer, with more than 127,000 workers. This reflects the fact that a career in local government clearly has plenty to offer across a breadth of areas and disciplines.

After university, I won a place on the two-year local government National Graduate Development Programme (NGDP) and have recently accepted a permanent management post at Middlesbrough Council. The development programme is recognised as one of the best in the country and among the Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.

It is just one of many graduate, apprenticeship and training programmes available to young people in the region, and, with many more organisations and companies seeing the benefits of moving from London and setting up in the North, I believe that job prospects here are set to grow.

Limitless culture, countryside, entertainment and affordable housing all contribute towards making the North-East a fantastic place to live and work. Increasingly, my friends are now beginning to see the many benefits of coming back to the region.

Let’s hope more local employers follow in the footsteps of the Association of North East Councils and let young people who have lived in the North-East all of their lives and students at the region’s universities know rewarding and stimulating career and job opportunities are open to them.

• Nicola Payne, 24, is a value for money analyst at Middlesbrough Council.

• For more information about Careers in Councils, visit www.careersincouncils.gov.uk