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'Be More Demanding' - Businesses Told

Businesses must be more demanding in the future if they are to crack the skills gap that is shackling the growth of the North East economy. That was the message from government education expert, Hugh Tollyfield.

Speaking ahead of the North East Chamber of Commerce’s Future of Skills seminar, held at Durham County Cricket Club in Chester-le-Street, the Director of Higher Education Employer Engagement at the Department for Education and Skills said: “The message for business is that we are creating a demand-led system so start demanding. “Many businesses, no matter what their size, do care about skills and do invest in training. “The problem is that if we want to win the battle for competitiveness and productivity that we are talking about there has to be more investment and it has to be smarter.”

Professor Tony Cockerill, Camelot Professor of Applied Economics at Durham University Business School, told more than 80 businesses attending the seminar that there was a major mountain to climb because the North East lagged at the bottom of the UK regional rankings on skill levels. He said this was having a serious effect on productivity. He also warned slower growth meant the gap between the North East and other regions was growing.

Tom Crompton, executive director of Learning & Skills Council County Durham, echoed the size of the task ahead. He said: “We (the North East) are on the periphery of an island which itself is on the periphery of Europe. We are up against it.” However, he said £320.5m was being invested in improving higher education provision in the North East and there was a growing willingness among employers to take part in key training programmes.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .