The skills and abilities of a company’s workforce are key factors influencing productivity and in developing competitive advantage.  In many industries the importance of technology has diminished, so the quality of people is the main differentiator between firms, leading to extreme competition for talented individuals, and poor economic performance when such individuals are not available.

As the region’s economy has changed in recent decades, so have the skills and training requirements needed to secure employment.  The decline in manufacturing means that many who relied on the sector for their livelihood are now seeking employment in service industries, where a very different set of skills is utilised, making training a necessity.

Numerous training and development schemes operate in the North East, with the intention of equipping people for new jobs, and also to advance the skills of people already in work.  A great deal of publicly funded support is available because to a significant extent, a high performing regional economy will be underpinned by the skills of individuals.  The Adult Information Advice and Guidance (IAG) in the North East has been established to ensure that high quality and impartial information, advice and guidance will be readily available to people in the North East to enable them to fulfil their potential in learning and work.  Similarly Learn Direct Advice and Next Step offer advice and guidance.

The North East continues to under perform relative to the rest of the UK across a range of indicators including levels of productivity, business start-ups, business survival, innovation, employment and the achievement of higher level skills.  Significant progress has been made in recent years, with the North East economy now growing faster than the UK average, but in many areas the region is still underdeveloped.  It is only through a commitment to skills and continual development that the North East will become truly competitive nationally.

Fact File

• The proportion of young people entering Higher Education (36%) is one-fifth lower than in England (45%). This relatively low inflow constrains the NE’s capacity to expand the supply of high level skills

• A 5.8% increase in the proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE, compared with 3.4% in England, between 2001 and 2004.

• An increase in the number of young people who move on to further education and training at 16, with over 13,000 currently studying for apprenticeships

• The North East generally scores one fifth lower than national averages on a number of skills indicators. The proportion of jobs held by people with NVQ4 qualifications is around a fifth lower than nationally (about 21% against 26% nationally)