This Is Tees Valley This Is Tees Valley - Issue 1 2020 | Page 31

SKILLS
FOR SUCCESS
Tees Valley is
a place where
education, skills and
opportunities meet
A website has been launched to link
young people with businesses.
T
hanks to the devolution deal with the
government – including the election
of the Tees Valley mayor in 2017 –
the mayor and combined authority
have significant powers and funding over
many aspects of education, careers, training
and skills.
Working closely with industry and the
Local Enterprise Partnership to understand
the skills gaps and the priorities of the
region’s businesses gives an unparalleled
chance to focus education and training in
areas where it would make the most impact
for local people and Tees Valley businesses.
For example, in August 2019 the mayor
and combined authority took control of
the region’s annual £29.5m adult education
budget, allowing funding for post-19
education to be tailored so learners can gain
the skills that companies desperately need.
By retraining people to fill local skills gaps,
businesses can grow, expand and create the
jobs of the future.
Apprenticeships are hugely important and
remain high on the agenda, giving people
the opportunity to gain valuable on-the-job
training, all while earning a wage and helping
companies secure the skills they need.
To date, the mayor and combined
authority have helped the creation of more
than 1,350 apprenticeships from their grant
schemes.
These grants, now of up to £3,000, help
businesses in some of the highest-growth
Tees Valley sectors create new apprenticeship
opportunities, with the potential for these
Apprenticeships are high on the
agenda within the Tees Valley.
apprentices to go on to bigger and better
things.
Before our young people even get to the
stage of apprenticeships or adult learning,
careers education is vitally important to set
them on a path to high-quality, successful
careers.
The region has been praised for its work in
this area, with John Yarham, interim CEO for
the Careers and Enterprise Company, stating
he was, “Incredibly impressed with the
vision and commitment to excellent careers
education at all levels that has developed in
Tees Valley”.
The mayor and combined authority,
working with partners, schools and
businesses, also recently achieved three
nominations at the National Careers Awards.
This has been delivered with
the introduction of the mayor’s
TeesValleyCareers.com initiative, a £3m
project to connect the region’s 100,000 young
people to 1,000 businesses and make sure
every child from 11-18 has at least seven
meaningful engagements with employers – a
UK first.
To date, almost 900 businesses have
committed to ensuring the region’s students
learn about the full range of careers on offer.
A £7.5m Routes to Work pilot also
supports local people aged 30 or over who
are unemployed and who need the most
help moving back to work. It identifies and
addresses multiple barriers to employment
and engages providers for wide-ranging,
joined-up assistance.
At every level, from childhood, to
college age and beyond, Tees Valley has
a comprehensive, respected and effective
package of education and skills schemes.
Together, they are making sure no one
is left behind in being able to access the
fantastic job opportunities the mayor and
combined authority are driving forward.
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