| Recruitment and retention are increasingly difficult for businesses and employers across all industry sectors in the North East. Not only are there widespread problems recruiting, businesses are having trouble retaining staff and finding those with the right skills in the first place. This employment landscape provides the backdrop for the activities of one of NE1's most long-standing and successful initiatives, its youth engagement programme NE1 CAN, which provides a free programme of engagement and events delivering careers insight sessions to young people across Newcastle and the North East, the only one of its kind in the region available to all students, regardless of academic abilities.
Working with cross-sector businesses, the programme offers real-life experiences and insight into different jobs and careers. Since its launch, it has worked with 82 education providers and over 7,500 young people. Many of the roles highlighted by employers are completely unknown to most young people; they have never heard of account executives, SEOs, conveyancers, paralegals, estimators, dry liners, the list goes on, and this lack of knowledge extends across all industry sectors.
NE1 CAN brings these roles, job titles and businesses to life through in-person events. Young people get the chance to see the workings of different organisations, speak to people within businesses, and learn about the many and varied roles and opportunities available here in Newcastle and the wider North East.
This is an abridged version of a column by Kerry McCabe, Business Network Manager at NE1, which appeared in The Journal |
