invest north east england

Almost £2 billion a year of public funding is spent on education and skills development in North East England, which has five universities, 24 further education colleges and a large number of world-class research institutions.

The 96,000 students in the North East provide a ready-made and dynamic pool of talent. Two thirds of them remain in the area after graduation to pursue careers in industry, professional services or carry out research. Over 50 of the area’s university departments have the UK’s highest rankings for research excellence.

One North East, its public sector partners and the area’s business community have a powerful focus on increasing the supply of skills. This is essential to continue the transformation of the North East into a knowledge driven, high-skilled economy.

Increasing the skills base sits alongside the promotion of innovation and encouragement of high value-added business activity. Programmes to raise skills levels are stimulating enterprise growth by increasing the capabilities and confidence of the area’s workforce.

The skills drive builds on the North East’s manufacturing heritage, which has attracted the world’s major automotive companies such as Nissan and its key suppliers to an area proud of its engineering excellence.

At the leading edge of technology, manufacturing businesses have been developed with pioneering skills in nanotechnology, functional materials and printable electronics.

The North East is a world leader in energy and low carbon technologies, with growing numbers of companies drawn to the area because of its reputation for expertise in engineering and R&D. The New and Renewable Energy Centre (Narec) in Blyth, for example, has specialist skills in wind, wave and tidal power, photovoltaics, subsea systems and electric grid conversion apparatus.

In the digital media and animation sector the North East has the UK’s highest number of start-up businesses outside London, supported by the Codeworks centre of excellence and the DigitalCity initiative at Teesside University. These new firms join existing major companies in the software sector such as Sage and Onyx.

In the healthcare and life sciences sector cutting edge research in stem cells and genetics is complemented by a formidable academic base in the medical field. Newcastle and Durham Universities are in the highest ranks for their medical research, while Northumbria University has a similar status for training nurses.

On the back of this formidable knowledge and expertise an innovative healthcare and life sciences industry has developed. This is supported by research institutions such as the Institute for Ageing and Health, the Institute of Human Genetics and Life Knowledge Park.

The North East’s chemicals industry also offers exciting careers to scientists and technicians. With strong support from the North East Process Industries Cluster, there is a major drive to recruit and train a new generation of young people to meet the changing demands of the industry.

Tees Valley is home to the UK’s largest chemical industry cluster, where the extensive skills base has attracted global companies such as Dow, Invista, Huntsman, Sabic and Ensus. It boasts one of Western Europe’s few sites with special development status. And in the pharmaceuticals field a third of all UK production is carried out in the North East by world-leading companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Sharp & Dohme, and Sanofi-Aventis.