Talking poing: Bridging the skills gap

Tackling tomorrow’s challenges with confidence and capability

• Tania Cooper, Chair – North East STEM Foundation and Managing director – Steel Benders UK

With the dawn of a new academic year, we find ourselves infused with optimism and with a renewed focus on shaping the workforce of tomorrow. However, a persistent gap between education and industry is stifling the supply of adequately trained talent that organisations desperately need to flourish.

As the managing director at Steel Benders UK, I see first-hand the necessity of cultivating skills – such as critical thinking, communication and teamwork – from an early age to satisfy future industry demands. This is why I am honoured to also serve as the chair of the North East STEM Foundation. Its mission is clear: to provide every young person, regardless of their background, with access to high-quality STEM education in a modern environment supported by employers.

By nurturing highly-skilled and innovative workers, and connecting them with businesses, we aim to secure the future of both local industries and the broader economy. We accomplish this through outreach programmes, removing financial barriers to STEM education and creating top-tier learning environments at crucial educational stages. One of the most impactful ways to prepare students for successful careers is by offering more opportunities for practical experience in real-world work settings.

Steel Benders UK’s facilities at Cochranes Wharf, in Middlesbrough, and Brenda Road, in Hartlepool, serve as prime examples of how industry can play a pivotal role in education. Many educational institutions stand to gain immensely from stronger partnerships with industry.

Bridging the communication gap through initiatives like regular dialogue, joint research projects and apprenticeships is essential for aligning educational outcomes with industry needs. By integrating work experience into curricula and continually updating educational content to mirror the latest industry trends and technologies, we can equip students with the practical skills and knowledge they require to excel in the workforce. And we urge companies in the North East to join us in this endeavour.

Together, we can cultivate a robust pipeline of talent, which is ready to meet the evolving demands of our industries. Collaboration is key to shaping the future of our workforce, and ensuring our region remains competitive and innovative.

Let’s seize this opportunity to work together and secure a bright future for both our young people and our industries. By doing so, we will create a thriving, forwardthinking community that can tackle the challenges of tomorrow with confidence and capability.

 

Enhancing the pathway from classroom to career

• Dr Sharon Grant, Director – North East Institute of Technology

The disconnect between education and industry remains a significant challenge, with organisations sometimes feeling hindered from accessing the trained talent they require to thrive. This gap arises from several factors, including the education system’s traditional focus on theory and critical thinking over the practical skills and experience valued by industry.

Graduates are often academically knowledgeable but not necessarily work-ready, lacking in-demand skills such as communication, teamwork and adaptability. Emerging fields like artificial intelligence, data science and green technologies are often underrepresented in traditional curricula.

It can be cumbersome for educational establishments to update curriculum content due to bureaucratic processes, resource, time and funding constraints. However, shorter, modular courses are helping by offering a more flexible approach to upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce with a rich source of ready talent.

Regular industry input into educational programmes is crucial, ensuring curricula reflects current trends, skills and competencies, keeping education relevant to job market demands. Concerns over time commitment, productivity loss, resource constraints and uncertainty about how to initiate collaboration make engagement challenging.

Initiatives like the National Institutes of Technology, supported by the Gatsby Foundation, have been established to provide regional central contacts.

Ongoing professional development for teachers and careers advisers is essential to ensure they are equipped with up-to-date regional/national labour market information, enabling them to guide students towards careers that align with industry needs, creating a seamless transition from education to employment.

Curriculum modernisation at all levels, from primary and secondary schools to higher education, and strengthening partnerships between businesses and educational institutions, are actionable solutions.

Employer-education engagement can take various forms: input into curriculum design, providing traineeships, apprenticeship programmes, mentoring learners, delivering masterclasses, supporting STEM events, career talks, participating in industry-education advisory boards and volunteering as an enterprise advisor or STEM ambassador.

A number of large and small companies in the North East are already committed to developing the future workforce. For example, the North East Institute of Technology (NEIoT) has well-supported advanced manufacturing and engineering, and construction and built environment employereducation advisory boards.

These collaborations have resulted in the development of high-quality retrofit courses, specialised modules that address local skills needs and the establishment of a digital ambassador programme.

Such initiatives highlight how industry and education can bridge the disconnect, enhancing mutual understanding and productivity.

The Prime Minister and Education Secretary have announced Skills England to boost national skills, create opportunities and kickstart economic growth by uniting central and local government, businesses and educational institutions to aid recruitment and a more responsive, collaborative skills system.

Bridging the education-industry gap requires a unified effort from all stakeholders, including parents, carers and students, to enhance the pathway from classroom to career and meet ever-evolving industry requirements.