1. About the North East Local Enterprise Partnership
What is the North East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP)?
The North East LEP is a public, private and education partnership that works together to improve the North East economy. The North East LEP covers Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland local authority areas.
What is the North East Strategic Economic Plan (SEP)?
The SEP is our plan for economic growth in the North East for the period It sets out what we are good at, our targets to create more and better jobs and details how we are going to deliver them.
What is the LEP’s role in delivering the SEP?
Our role is to provide strategic leadership for the region, working with partners and facilitating each element. We also aim to secure maximum investment and resources for the region, raise the national profile of the North East and work with partners on initiatives that will have the greatest economic impact for the area.
Why is it important to have a SEP?
The SEP is recognised by government as the North East’s principal economic policy document that sets a strategic direction for our regional economy. It outlines our medium term economic plan and helps identify interventions and investments to support economic growth and to create more and better jobs for our economy. It is the plan which is shared and owned by the North East to grow the economy.

2. The Strategic Economic Plan More and better jobs

3. Six programmes of delivery
Supporting innovation
Business growth and access to finance
Skills
Employability and inclusion
Economic assets and infrastructure
Transport and digital connectivity

4. Improving skills in the North East
Excelling in technical and professional education
Higher education
Education challenge
50+ workforce – retrain, regain, retain
North East Ambition

5. Strategic Economic Plan – Skills ‘goals’
Every young person in the North East should be able to identify routes to a successful working life
To reduce the gap between our best and lowest performing schools
To offer world-class technical and professional education
To work with universities to create job-ready graduates who want to stay in the region
Reduce inactivity in the older workforce

6. Apprenticeships: AGP
Assess the impact of changes to the delivery of apprenticeships on employers
Promote Higher and Degree level apprenticeships
Promote the benefits of apprenticeships to employers

7. AGP: Campaign
The North East LEP apprenticeship campaign went live last Tuesday as well as the toolkit, which you can view
This campaign will focus on LinkedIn text ads and search with the objectives of the campaign being:
Raise awareness of the value of apprenticeships generally – drive people to the .gov.uk website for apprenticeship providers
Increase understanding of the rules around apprenticeships – measure downloads
Raise awareness of the value of degree level apprenticeships:
The campaign is set to run for 6 weeks and we will provide weekly high-level stats updates so that you're always aware of the progress of the campaign.

8. Improving skills in the North East
Excelling in technical and professional education
Higher education
Education challenge
50+ workforce – retrain, regain, retain
North East Ambition

9. All schools using, implementing and achieving the benchmarks
Our goals
Every young person in the North East should be able to identify routes to a successful working life
All schools using, implementing and achieving the benchmarks
All schools matched with an Enterprise Adviser

10. ‘North East Ambition’

11. North East Ambition: Enterprise Advisers

12. FaulknerBrowns Architects

13. A New National Careers Strategy

14. The Careers Strategy
Adoption and implementation of the Gatsby benchmarks
Career Hubs
Recognition of the crucial role of the ‘Careers Leader’
Careers Leader Training
Updated statutory guidance with specific responsibilities for schools
Reference to Ofsted
Updated guidance for Colleges
Enhanced role for the Careers and Enterprise Company to support all 8 benchmarks

15. The ‘Baker Clause’ – 2nd Jan 2018
An amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act
Every school must ensure that there is an opportunity for a range of education and training providers to access all pupils in year 8 to year 13 for the purpose of informing them about approved technical education qualifications or apprenticeships.
The legislation applies to all schools including special educational needs schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision academies.
The legislation requires schools to prepare a policy statement setting out how providers will be given access and ensure that it is followed.

16. The Careers Strategy
“The careers strategy needs to be more than a document. We need to dramatically expand, the breadth and effectiveness of current careers provision in schools and colleges on all subjects” - Anne Milton, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Speaking on Jan 24th at the 2018 BETT show.

17. Denis Heaney denid.heaney@nelep.co.uk 0191 338 7447 07776467596