Member Article

Smarter working campaign gets cash boost

Plans to make the North East the smartest working region in the UK have received a cash boost from the regional development agency.

One NorthEast will support the flagship Work Wise North East campaign with £154,000 of funding over the next two years.

The cash will be used to appoint a regional Work Wise leader who will motivate North East employers to adopt ‘smarter’ working practices, and will also help to raise the visibility of the campaign - ultimately helping to drive economic growth, boosting productivity and competitiveness.

Simon Roberson, chairman of Work Wise North East and regional manager of BT said: “The Work Wise campaign has gone from strength to strength over the past 18 months, resulting in many employers adopting smarter working practices. This would not have been possible without the support of all our partners.

“However, the overwhelming success of the campaign has meant that we have not been able to follow through new opportunities with employers as we have not had a dedicated resource and our partners’ time has been limited.

“Thanks to One NorthEast, we will now be able to appoint a full-time resource to ensure that workers and employers are getting the advice and guidance they need to help them work smarter - this in turn will improve their businesses and will make a real impact on people’s working lives.”

Margaret Fay, One NorthEast chairman said: “Helping employers explore new ways of offering flexible working is not only important in helping to attract and keep highly-skilled people in the North East, enabling more people to play their part in the economy and reducing the impact of congestion on the environment but also in maximising competitiveness and productivity during the global slowdown we’re facing at the moment.”

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