Tees Business LIVE : April 3 , 2024
EVENTS
WORKFORCE CHALLENGE
Tees Business LIVE : April 3 , 2024
BEDE SIXTH FORM COLLEGE , BILLINGHAM
PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
Panellists – Clarke Beagrie ( left ) and Jack Anderson ( right ), from event sponsor Advanced Vehicle Leasing , flank ( from left ) SABIC ’ s Jos Visser , Baines Jewitt ’ s Anne Cowley , bp ’ s Tom Thayer and the Education Training Collective ’ s Grant Glendinning at the Tees Business LIVE event , held at Bede Sixth Form College .
Why ‘ resurgent Teesside ’ is well-placed to close skills gap
The opportunities are coming – but young people need equipping with the skills to take advantage of a “ resurgent Teesside ”.
That was the message from college boss Grant Glendinning as he shared the stage with representatives of bp , SABIC and Baines Jewitt at a Tees Business LIVE event .
Delegates from the business , education and charity sectors heard the panel discuss the challenges around ensuring the Tees Valley workforce is equipped with the skills it needs now and in the future .
Grant , CEO of the Education Training Collective ( Etc .), joined bp ’ s UK skills partnerships manager Tom Thayer , Baines Jewitt chartered accountants ’ director Anne Cowley and SABIC UK Petrochemicals ’ site director Jos Visser on the panel at the morning event , held in Billingham ’ s Bede Sixth Form College – part of the Etc .’ s group of colleges and training providers .
And he said that while there is a skills gap on Teesside – for example , 33 per cent of the area ’ s workforce is qualified to foundation degree or HNC level compared to 45 per cent nationally – he felt “ huge bright spots ” were on the horizon , especially in the construction , engineering and professional services sectors , and young people in particular needed to be given the tools to take advantage of those opportunities .
Grant told an audience of around 70 delegates at the Advanced Vehicle Leasing-sponsored event : “ We need to make sure young people are aware of exactly the type of opportunities now and into the future .
“ We ’ ve got to make sure people benefit from all the opportunities that are coming into what we call in the Etc . a ‘ resurgent Teesside ’.
“ If you look at our vision statement , it ’ s about fuelling ambition and driving success in a resurgent Teesside because we really believe reindustrialisation is going to bring huge opportunities .”
Tom Thayer , of bp , felt the skills gap was “ more of a capacity thing ”.
He said : “ We ’ re all trying to fish from the same pool but there ’ s not enough people . “ The more we can do to collectively reinforce the narrative that there are roles , there are opportunities and that businesses are looking for the critical skills where we ’ re experiencing capacity issues , the better .”
Anne Cowley felt a lot of good work to close the skills gap had already been done through closer collaboration between colleges and employers , saying : “ We ’ re moving in the right direction .”
She added : “ Years ago , ICI attracted a lot of people to the area and recruited a lot of people from elsewhere .
“ Maybe that ’ s part of the solution to the skills gap – and get youngsters trained and able to fill that gap in the workforce .”
And Jos Visser said that while education was a “ fantastic thing ”, it wasn ’ t for everybody , so closer attention should be paid to tapping into the potential of those who fall through the net .
He said : “ Education isn ’ t for everybody – we have young boys and girls that don ’ t feel comfortable in classrooms and drop out of college .
“ There is a group that can ’ t follow education and we shouldn ’ t forget about them . They have real potential and they can help us , if not fill the whole skills gap – it ’ s difficult with all the construction projects that we have – but certainly play a part .”
Around 70 people attended the Tees Business LIVE event , which also heard how Tees Business will later this year launch a new annual publication , Tees Skills .
The powerful new publication , primarily aimed at the 14-22 age group , plus their educators and peers , will showcase local career opportunities and how young people can gain the skills to follow different career paths .
For more information on Tees Skills , see pages 48-49 .
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