Member Article

Northumbria Uni lands €1m funding to conduct youth employability study

Northumbria University will lead research into employer struggles of youth talent attraction and retention, after securing around €1 million in European funding.

The University is leading an international consortium to investigate current issues in the employability and management of graduates at a regional, national and global level with a view to enhancing business performance and economic development in transitional regions/countries.

Made up of 13 partners and part-funded by Horizon 2020 - the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation - universities in Slovenia, Poland, Ireland and South Korea will collaborate alongside researchers at Northumbria University on a four-year project with international reach that explores how to harness the skills and aptitudes of young talent in future.

The group also includes multinational corporations and SMEs, including Eliesha Training Ltd in Newcastle, as well as students and graduates.

Dr Alison Pearce, Project Leader at GETM3 and Senior Lecturer at Northumbria University’s Newcastle Business School, said: “Young workers have minds of their own and have to be persuaded rather than told what to do.

“They have to be led rather than managed, and that’s very difficult and very different for many employers. However, they mostly have great entrepreneurial attitudes and technological skills extremely useful to economic development.

“To tackle this worldwide disconnect, an innovative approach is needed, reinforced by our 13 partner consortium and we will work together to research, develop and implement solutions.

“Our main objective is to improve employability and future global talent management to support economic development by capitalising on entrepreneurialism as a key characteristic of young people.

“Northumbria remains a global, outward-looking university. It has a strong commitment to internationalism and diversity, including valuable and longstanding links with Europe and beyond.

“International staff and students are as welcome here today as they have always been and we are delighted to lead a project funded by the European Commission.”