Impact on Skills report part of biggest-ever BUSINESSiQ
The 60-page report brings together insight and information from colleges across the region, the Department for Education, the Combined Authorities and other experts to paint a complete picture of what is working and what we need to do next, as part of a record 188-page edition of the Echo’s quarterly BUSINESSiQ magazine.
It includes an Echo survey showing that the biggest barrier to delivering the workers of the future is still funding.
BUSINESSiQ Editor Mike Hughes said: “The reason for starting this report – which quickly grew way beyond our original plan because so many people saw this as the right time to have their say – was to give clarity to the skills situation in the North East and try to answer key questions:
- What does the Further Education sector think about where we were?
- What strategies have worked and enabled us to get this far?
- How do eight handpicked examples of the region’s leading colleges plan for the future?
- What about the Government role – what is the Department for Education doing to back it all up?
- What is the HE role in educating our future workers and leaders?
- What is the employers’ view of where we are and what we still need?
“There is clearly a lot to talk about, but no subject is as vital as this, so I felt having plenty of space to listen to as many voices as possible was important.”
The report focussed on five Further Education colleges, New College Durham, Hartlepool, Bishop Auckland, Newcastle, and Darlington, two dominant education groups in Education Partnership North East and Education Training Collective, both Combined Authorities, Sunderland University and the North East Chamber of Commerce as well as believe housing and the independent Barnard Castle School to get as wide a view as possible.
To get hold of your FREE copy of the 188-page BUSINESSiQ magazine containing the report, go to bit.ly/businessiqsubscription and for a list of stockists, go to bit.ly/biqmap