Helping more people get good jobs
New Deal for North East Workers is a strategy that sets out what the North East Combined Authority will do to help more people get good jobs over the next five years.
The plan focuses on:
- improving skills and qualification
- reducing unemployment and inactivity
- supporting economic growth
- expanding opportunity across the region
The plan will play a leading role in achieving the Mayor and Cabinet’s five missions, as well as delivering our Local Growth Plan ambitions and the Mayor’s manifesto commitments.
Collaboration and partnership is at the heart of this work. In developing this plan, we've engaged regional stakeholders in the North East to understand the opportunities and challenges we face, and align our shared ambitions for the future.
A note from Kim
This plan forms a series of direct pledges I make to the workers of the North East, and those seeking work. As mayor, I will ensure you have what you need to find a job, and grow your career, here in our region.
My role is to ensure the North East Combined Authority works to support you, and in this plan I set out how we will ensure, every day, the focus is on ensuring people living here have access to a good job.
We are setting out to make the North East the home of real opportunity, a mission which will only succeed if everyone feels the difference.This New Deal for North East Workers is a key component of our vision for a better region, setting out the employment and skills improvements our residents, businesses and economy need to thrive.
We set out here the steps needed to ensure people of all ages and backgrounds can develop their skills , find good quality, well-paid jobs, and build a career with good prospects in a region they love. That pledge is as important for those in the foundational economy as it is for those in working in specialised roles.
The activities set out in the plan underpin our wider ambitions for the region. From reducing child poverty to making us the home of the green energy revolution, the path to success comes from giving everyone the chance to thrive. We know that while some people need access to advanced skills to further their career while staying in the region, for others there are excessive barriers to work that must be addressed first.
By taking a comprehensive and joined-up approach we will deliver a New Deal for North East Workers that tackles the opportunities and challenges in our economy and labour market, playing a vital role in building the sound employment and skills foundations the region needs.
Investment in people isn’t just our moral duty, it’s the core of our economic plan. When we have a well-paid, skilled workforce at all levels of the economy, businesses will thrive and create more jobs.
The ability to invest in North East skills comes from our devolution to date, but it is clear we must go further. Through our upcoming Integrated Settlement we gain more freedom to invest our resources in a way which benefits the North East.
As mayor I will continue to seek a new devolution deal in which the people of the North East are handed more control over our skills investment, ensuring more decisions about this region are taken in this region.
Our vision
The North East will be home to a growing and vibrant economy for all.
We will ensure we have the human capital needed for success - where residents of all ages and from all backgrounds and
communities are encouraged and supported to develop their skills and capabilities, make progress towards and into work, find good quality, fairly-paid jobs, and find a career with good prospects, and lead healthy, fulfilling working lives.
Our economy will thrive as our employers recruit more of the skilled staff they need, and we invest in workforce progression to support and grow our key sectors and the foundational economy, now and in the future.
With good quality, sustainable jobs, more of our residents, families and children will fulfil their potential, enjoying a better quality of life in prosperous, healthier neighbourhoods.
Our priorities
1. Build a bigger, better skilled, and more diverse workforce
Our key growth sectors are equipped with a diverse high-skilled workforce, and our foundational economy is supported to grow and thrive. All residents and employers benefit from the same high-quality, comprehensive, and consistent service, wherever they are in the region, underpinned by an integrated, stable and reformed employment and skills sector.
2. Creating career pathways that enable employers to recruit and retain skilled staff
Employers of all sizes are able to fill job vacancies and benefit from a stable, productive, skilled workforce, offering good jobs with opportunities for
progression to people from all backgrounds.
3. Targeted support to improve employment rates for all residents
Residents with health conditions and disabilities, and those with multiple complex barriers, have the opportunity to develop their skills, do rewarding work and lead productive, healthy and independent lives. Young people have the skills, confidence and support for their aspirations to progress into a job and lead fulfilling working lives.
4. Tackling barriers that prevent residents getting into and getting on at work
Residents from all backgrounds and communities have access to the basic services and conditions they need to participate in education and training and to get and keep a rewarding job, including affordable childcare / social care, reliable public transport, and fair wages and secure employment terms.
Download the report
Download the New Deal for North East Workers strategy below.