North West views: adept4 CEO Peter Birkett on the Northern Powerhouse

With the government’s vision of creating a Northern Powerhouse commanding the attention of the North West business community, at Bdaily we’re publishing an ongoing series of interviews to establish just what the region’s business leaders think of the plans.

Is the North West set for an overhaul in the coming years – one to turn the region into a true example of economic empowerment through business growth, job creation and prosperity?

Today we caught up with Peter Birkett, CEO of Warrington-based IT services firm adept4.

What does the Northern Powerhouse mean to you?

The Northern Powerhouse has a key role to play in providing a clear focal point which will help our cities to come together with one clear aim.

Our Northern cities can be more than the sum of their parts, but we need to ensure we’re united in our goals to strengthen our transport links, support our local industry, develop talent and skills across the North, and create the infrastructure we need to make the most of our individual strengths while continuing to advance as a connected whole.

Are there signs of the Northern Powerhouse starting to bear fruit in the region?

Like many others, I think it’s still too early to say. The ongoing prioritisation of projects like London’s new Elizabeth line (£14.8bn), Crossrail Two (£27bn) over the development of much-needed infrastructure projects in the North is concerning and frustrating, but the rising awareness and enthusiasm for the concept demonstrated by the business community in the North, coupled with the promises made in Osborne’s budget, are promising.

But we definitely need to see more tangible outcomes in the region for this to become solid economic growth.

Has the government done enough to convince you of its commitment to Osborne’s vision?

Osborne’s budget has helped to convince sceptics that the Northern Powerhouse concept is more than empty sloganeering. His promises to improve road and rail links in the region, introduce a more favourable business tax regime that encourages entrepreneurship and investment in new businesses and a focus on improving education in the region were very welcome.

Support for initiatives like the International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016) – which will help to drive global trade in the North and beyond – is another good indicator of the Government’s ongoing commitment. But although Osborne has gone some way to convincing the doubters of the Government’s sincerity with regards to the Northern Powerhouse, there is still much work to be done.

Transport improvement is intrinsic to the Northern Powerhouse. Do you believe that spending billions on infrastructure will improve Northern productivity?

Connectivity is critical to the strength and development of the region and for knowledge businesses like ours, it is essential for attracting and retaining talented, skilled staff.

Investment in better rail and motorway links opens up the region and makes it more attractive to ambitious, mobile graduates. Like many tech businesses, the quality of our people is critical to our success, so making sure that we are able to easily access talent – particularly highly-trained engineers and technical staff, is key.

For a fast-growing business like ours, which has offices and clients across the country and requires our team to be mobile, the investment in transport infrastructure will make it easier for us to access our clients and compete on with companies in other parts of the country.

Are there any other areas which you believe money should be spent on, ahead of transport?

The North West is one of the fastest-growing tech clusters in the UK and tackling the skills shortage is key to ensuring we have the infrastructure in place to build upon this base. For a service business like ours, making sure that we’re easily able to access talented, highly-trained technical staff is absolutely critical.

The Northern Powerhouse has the potential to create a more focused system which will more closely align training and education provision with industry needs in specific areas– ensuring that young people are being offered training which matches the skills gaps in their local areas. This is crucial to ensure we’re creating a training infrastructure which will equip the workforce of the future and ensure we remain competitive.

Investment in the region’s transport infrastructure and connectivity is also key to support a mobile, skilled workforce.

While Manchester is a key city in the government’s vision, do you think enough is being done to cater for other important North West towns and cities?

Despite Manchester being mentioned 52 times in George Osborne’s budget announcement, it’s clear that uniting the strengths of all the cities and towns of the North of England will be critical to the success of the Northern Powerhouse. No one city can achieve the vision on its own.

In light of this, the government’s commitment to develop improved east-west rail and road links is essential in improving the flow of people, talent and wealth between the business hubs of the North.

Large infrastructure projects that enable this flow of people and services also have a positive ripple effect on the local economy – bringing significant opportunities to local businesses – Runcorn’s very own Mersey Gateway Bridge project is a great example of this.

However, construction on the Northern Powerhouse’s major infrastructure projects announced in the budget will not begin before 2020, and the money promised so far is only to draw up the plans and should not be seen as confirmation of them going ahead.

Again, we need to adopt a measure of cautious optimism to these plans, welcoming them but also remembering there is much more that needs to be done for the North.

For all our latest Northern Powerhouse news and views, click here. Share your views and get involved with our latest interview series by contacting North West editor Richard at richard.bell@bdaily.co.uk