Member Article

New hub set to tackle 2,000 North East vacancy skills gap

The North East has 2,000 IT vacancies that cannot currently be filled - there are not enough young people, and especially women, with the right skills entering the sector.

This despite the fact that the North East has a hugely successful IT industry with over 32,000 people working in IT and is one of the region’s largest employers.

However, the region currently has an IT skills gap in line with the rest of the UK which has seen an 8.5% increase in jobs since 2011 and currently provides 2,600,000 jobs UK-wide that equates to an £8.8m contribution to the UK economy every hour.

As a result Dynamo, the North East IT employer network, in partnership with Baltic Training Services, a leading IT training provider, is launching the UK’s first IT Apprentice Hub.

It is comprised of a 15 week Rising Stars programme offering an intensive IT skills training course with technical content aimed at preparing young adults for their first role in the IT sector. The North East is the first region to attempt this type of approach in IT and if successful could be rolled out across the UK.

The first IT Apprentice Hub is scheduled to open at Sunderland (at Sunderland Software City) in February 2015 with the second Hub scheduled to open in Newcastle in April 2015 and is entirely government funded coming at no cost to the students.

It has already been successfully piloted in Newcastle at Quorum Business Park where eight young people have been through the 15 week programme with seven successfully employed as IT apprentices, six at NCFE, a leading national awarding organisation and part of the Dynamo IT employer network.

Those who successfully complete the course are then given the opportunity to progress to a paid full time 12 month Level 3 apprenticeship with an IT employer. The intention is to bridge the gap between education and industry.

From an employer perspective they can recruit from a pool of dedicated, driven individuals who have already demonstrated commitment and are appropriately qualified. From the young person’s point of view there is an opportunity to start their career in IT with some of the region’s leading IT businesses.

Dynamo has set out an IT Skills Strategy for the North East IT industry which encompasses primary schools, secondary schools, colleges and universities, getting more women into IT, and how to make it easier for IT based SMEs to take on apprentices.

Working closely with Baltic Training Services, the Newton Aycliffe based IT training provider, Dynamo has developed the IT Apprentice Hub which takes away the challenges SMEs face in hiring apprentices.

Vice Chair of Dynamo and managing director of Accenture in Newcastle, Bob Paton, said: “We have an ever growing and successful IT sector in the North East, however, to grow it further we need to increase the pool of young people in the region who have the skills necessary to join the industry.

“That is why Dynamo has put skills development at the top of our agenda. A major element of our skills strategy is to increase the take on of apprentices particularly for SMEs. Setting up this Apprentice Hub is unique in IT and will significantly help more young people into our industry.”

Operations director of Baltic Training Services, Louise Ball, said: “The IT sector is a major employer in the region and as its fastest growing sector this will only become more so. It is very important therefore that we support it by attracting the brightest and best young talent in sufficient numbers.

“We will do this by delivering recognised accredited training and offering a clear route to the employer who in turn will provide sustainable career opportunities.

“We developed the model in collaboration with Dynamo within the IT sector, to provide a structured approach to attracting, training and recruiting new talent into the IT sector.”

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