EGGER hosts 21st Century workforce development initiative in Hexham

EGGER, a family-owned Austrian company founded ‘To Create More from Wood’ set up its first overseas plant in Hexham in 1984. Since then, it has invested £250m in the 67 acre site with a focus to develop its employees to be the best they can be. EGGER is the largest private sector employer in Northumberland with over 650 people employed in Hexham alone.

As part of its strategic people-development objective, the business leaders of EGGER Hexham have played an active role in the development of the 21st Century Workforce Development Initiative since its inception in November 2022.

This initiative, funded in its pilot phase by The Royal Academy of Engineering, and supported by a range of stakeholders including Northumberland County Council, seeks to address employability, education, equity, and opportunity by delivering training in collaboration with employers from across the Northumberland County.

To cement its involvement and the interest EGGER has in quality and inclusive leadership, the company hosted the first day of the pilot’s second cohort of mini-exec MBA participants from a range of Northumberland’s employers.

Delivered by Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, the five day course will visit different locations in Northumberland so that participants can discover the different work-places, cultures and geographies of their peers.

The initiative is the first of its kind, being place-based and employer-led with the goal to harness the opportunity for Northumberland to thrive within a net zero driven industrial age. The employers of Northumberland have helped to design the pilot’s four focused training programmes to develop their workforces and set the standard for driving workforce growth and capability.

Clare Ball, HR manager, EGGER (UK) Ltd said,“As the largest employer in Northumberland, we are delighted to be part of the 21st Century Workforce Development. It is more critical than ever to consider existing and future employment challenges within our region. Key to this challenge is what we can do as employers from a practical and strategic perspective to support skills development and overcome inequalities.”

Dr Alex Hope, deputy pro vice-chancellor for the Faculty of Business and Law at Northumbria University, said, “Through our research, knowledge exchange partnerships, and professional development courses we already collaborate and engage extensively with businesses and policy makers across the region, so we are delighted to be involved with this powerful initiative to help create the leaders of the future.”

Since last November, the 21st Century Workforce Development Initiative has engaged with 52 multi-sector employers from around Northumberland. Those companies have sent 117 participants on training that span leadership and digital-skills development taking part in employer-hosted locations across the county of Northumberland.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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