North East Times Magazine Issue 465

A place where opportunity thrives

North East mayor - Kim McGuinness

Spotlight

From the General Election to the future of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe train factory, landmark green energy plans and national football on the Tyne, Steven Hugill analyses some of the stories impacting the region’s news agenda.

Round table

Feature

Kim McGuinness

BEHIND THE COVER

Photographing Kim was an absolute pleasure. She was warm, friendly and incredibly generous with her time, making the entire shoot a great experience.

Capturing her in this historic moment - being the first North East mayor and also the General Election period - felt monumental.

Her charisma and dedication truly shine through in the portrait, reflecting the significance of this period in her career and our region's history.

Mike Sreenan, photographer

Feature Jimmy Turrell

Feature Ben Houchen

Editor Steven Hugill steven@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Business journalist

Colin Young T: 07808 974 533 colin@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Digital content manager Kate Hewison kate@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Business development director

John Duns T: 07920 152 523 john@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Creative & managing director

Peter Mallon T: 07590 064 800 pete@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Partnership & marketing manager Sarah Law sarah@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Digital marketing consultant

Sian Anderson sian@netimesmagazine.co.uk

PR and events consultant Sally Crossley sally@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Finance manager Jill Brown jill@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Filmography

Andrew Lowe andrew@netimesmagazine.co.uk

Paul Geist paul.geist.photo@gmail.com

Contributors:

Mark Lancaster

Professor Mark Simpson

Jerry Hopkinson

Evangeline Atkinson and Laura Mills

Rachel Pattinson

Photography: Christopher Owens www.christopherjamesowens.co.uk

Ben Benoliel www.benbenoliel.com

Mike Sreenan www.michaelsreenan.com

Angela Carrington Krzysztof Furgala www.thisisthebiggerpicture.co.uk

Jamie Haslam www.roamwithus.co.uk

Matt Taylor www.mtcreative.co.uk

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editor’s WORD

With a snap national poll having quickly followed landmark metro mayor elections, Steven Hugill hopes now for some political stability to help the North East achieve its true potential…

4Hello and welcome to the latest edition of North East Times Magazine.

Sir Alex Ferguson was many things to the game of football.

He wasn’t, though, an obvious go-to guy for a line on the state of British politics.

Yet as Rishi Sunak emerged into the rain to announce a snap national poll, all I could hear – against a bed of D:Ream from a nearby loudspeaker – was Sir Alex’s dumbfounded reaction to his team’s late, late victory over Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final.

“Football – bloody hell”, he smiled incredulously to a waiting television interviewer, after two injury-time goals had snatched the title.

And so, when the Conservatives’ third Prime Minister of 2022 chose to soak himself in a downpour – making headline writers and cartoonists smile with collective glee – I found myself thinking, ‘politics – bloody hell’.

But should I really have been too surprised?

After all, while the drama around Sir Alex unfolded in seconds, we’ve had years of it.

And then I thought again.

For all the achingly monotonous and endless campaign promises, by gathering everyone once more in village halls, primary schools and the many other weird and wonderful buildings commandeered for polling purposes, he (finally) did us a big favour.

Because it meant we could rip away the multiple sticking plasters and cleanse Westminster of a malaise that had hung around since Theresa May’s days, never mind the Johnson-Truss-Sunak era.

It also allows us, as a collective region, to reset our dial.

With new North East mayor Kim McGuinness just a phone call from the front bench of the same Labour Party church, we now have, thanks to a £4.2 billion devolution deal, power in our hands to truly realise

watershed economic and social change.

Kim outlines her blueprint in this issue, with commitments to tackle child poverty and improve public transport matched by a focus on creating a stronger skills pipeline for the green jobs of tomorrow.

She also pledges to work with three-term Tees Valley Conservative counterpart Ben Houchen – who reveals his to-do list in this edition – to create, where possible, partnerships that work for the entire North East.

Elsewhere, we take a detailed look at the region’s agricultural sector through a special roundtable report, which features farmers, sector experts and education leaders, and highlights how legislative change means the industry is well-placed for growth.

We also peer into the mind of renowned graphic artist and video director Jimmy Turrell, who grew up on Newcastle’s Byker Wall estate and is today the go-to creative for dozens of international brands and bands seeking to transform their looks.

And I leave you with news of great change at North East Times.

I’m delighted to announce we have acquired the assets of Bdaily, with a refreshed digital offer of the national digital news platform set to be unveiled in the coming weeks.

It’s a very exciting step forward for North East Times, for it will not only strengthen our presence as the region’s leading business-to-business media company, but it will increase too our standing as the authoritative voice for commercial sector news and features across this area and beyond.

You can read more about the deal on pages 12 and 13.

I hope you enjoy this issue.

Steven

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North East Times expands with Bdaily acquisition

North East Times has strengthened its marketplace standing with the acquisition of Bdaily. Here, Pete Mallon, North East Times’ creative and managing director, and John Duns, the multi-platform publisher’s business development director, explain the deal’s significance and its place within wider growth plans.

www.netimesmagazine.co.uk

LinkedIn: North East Times

4North East Times is expanding.

The multi-platform publisher has acquired Bdaily from Groundsix.

The deal for the national digital news organisation bolsters North East Times’ presence as the region’s leading business-to-business media company.

It also strengthens North East Times’ position as the authoritative voice for commercial sector news and features across the region and beyond.

Work is now underway to refresh Bdaily’s online publishing channels, with an official relaunch scheduled for the coming weeks.

Coverage will initially focus on the North East, though plans are in place to expand nationally, to build on Bdaily’s previous moves into Yorkshire and London.

Based in Gateshead, North East Times produces the popular, bi-monthly North East Times Magazine alongside free and independently-led daily digital news content and high-quality videography.

It also oversees a growing events portfolio, which includes regular roundtable discussions with industry experts on a raft of topics, delivery of the North East HR&D Awards and

partnerships with bodies such as business support organisation RTC North to present panel-based discussions.

And Pete Mallon, who, as creative and managing director, has masterminded North East Times’ transformation since reviving the brand nearly a decade ago, says Bdaily will catalyse its next growth phase.

He says: “We relaunched North East Times with the aim of becoming the UK’s most engaging and aesthetically striking business sector publisher.

“And through North East Times Magazine –which complements original and compelling long-form features of individuals and businesses making positive change with analytical insight and opinion – we’ve achieved that goal.

“But we are much more than a magazine.

“We have an equally strong digital presence and our events portfolio spans multiple sectors alongside partners from Northumberland to Teesside.

“Bdaily will add a further dimension to that offer through dedicated daily news stories and features.”

He adds: “With a new North East mayor and headline investment and job creation plans

matched by great national political change, our region is a rapidly evolving place, and with Bdaily now part of our stable, we’ll continue to lead the charge on covering the stories that matter.

“We can’t wait to get going.”

John Duns, North East Times’ business development director, added: “The acquisition will allow us to offer an even more comprehensive service to commercial clients who are seeking to promote their brand and business right across the region.”

Roy Stanley, Groundsix chair, says he is excited to see the digital brand develop as part of North East Times.

He adds: “The team and I are incredibly proud of how Bdaily has grown over the last decade, becoming a trusted and wellread platform for thousands every day.

“And we’re delighted to have agreed a deal with North East Times to maintain such progress.

“We wanted to retain Bdaily’s regional

roots, and the brand becoming part of North East Times does just that.

“I know Pete and his team have some exciting plans to build on Bdaily’s achievements, and I’m excited to see them come to fruition.”

The acquisition was supported by Newcastle, Darlington and Leeds-based Square One Law, with corporate partner John Hammill and corporate solicitor Vanessa Middleton offering valuable assistance.

Vanessa says: “For years, North East Times and Bdaily have excelled at reporting business news and showcasing some of our region’s most impressive companies and outstanding professionals.

“It’s been great for us to support this acquisition and work with Pete and John, who are both great leaders within the media profession.

“Like them, we are delighted with the outcome and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have planned.”

“With a new North East mayor and headline investment and job creation plans matched by great national political change, our region is a rapidly evolving place, and with Bdaily now part of our stable, we’ll continue to lead the charge on covering the stories that matter”

Pictured, from left to right, are John Duns, North East Times business development director; Vanessa Middleton; Square One Law corporate solicitor; Roy Stanley; Groundsix chair; and Pete Mallon, North East Times creative and managing director

Spotlight

Time to close the House of Horrors for good

From the General Election to the future of Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe train factory, landmark green energy plans and national football on the Tyne, Steven Hugill analyses some of the stories impacting the region’s news agenda.

Words by Steven Hugill

4A new kind of performance

Alas, we got so near.

The lights were switched off, the tarpaulins were draped over idle sets and the doors bolted. Outside, beyond the car park, the Abominable Showman and his supporting cast of plenty were thumbing lifts to their next playground.

After five years, the Westminster House of Horrors was closed. Done. Finished.

And then a gavel landed in New York, The Donald cried foul (again) and his ally from across the pond sought to kill some time before #45’s July sentencing date.

Which would have been fine if he’d just buggered off to a quiet corner in his local.

Life, though, is rarely so generous.

And so down again thunked the UK political caravan of chaos’ legs, Nigel Farage - PT Barnum with a pint in one hand and a bottle of Brexit snake oil in the other - back for another selfindulgent tilt at Westminster.

Of course, as you’re reading this, dear old Nige may well now be Clacton’s MP, which, having flunked seven previous election attempts, would at least mark a triumph for perseverance.

But what then?

You really think he’s going to be bothered about the everyday irritations of Clacton’s potholes, potential community centre closures and ensuring local bus services keep on running? Nah, me neither.

A far more likely outcome of his posturing will be years of Tory struggle, thanks to Reform’s snatch and grab of blue rosettes.

Not that the party needed much help in burying itself in the weeks leading to the election.

When his comms team sent him to Chesham United Football Club, all Rishi Sunak had to do was have a kickabout with some kids.

Instead, after stumbling through a simple cone drill, he took his ball and bagged enough own goals – not least his astonishing D-Day gaffe – to make Richard Dunne, the titan of Premier League defensive calamities, look a clueless novice: ‘here’s what real friendly fire looks like, son. Watch and learn...’

And all after being drenched by the rain – and drowned out by D:Ream.

He tried, but it’s hard to pin a Captain Chaos caricature on your greatest rival when you’re behaving like General Disarray.

But what of Starmer, I hear you ask?

Was he effusive? No. Was he charismatic? No.

He was, of course, Mr Functional, a sensible and steady beige M&S sweater in an unpredictable summer, who plodded through his campaign with enough catchphrases to at least make Farage’s mate Roy Walker smile.

Yet after Johnson’s nonsense, Truss’ blunderbuss and Sunak’s blowback, boring wouldn’t necessarily represent a poor turn.

Labour is far from a political panacea.

But a change of Westminster administration (I write before the election, when the party was predicted to gain a huge majority) would at least allow for a refreshing of thinking and policy, and an opportunity to deliver some performance after years of the performative.

And that includes for the North East too.

With two mayors now in situ, the region has an opportunity to strike out decisively and deliver watershed economic and social change.

And that will only be helped by a stable Westminster.

Make Hitachi a priority

One of the new Government’s immediate areas of focus must be Hitachi’s 750-job train building factory in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Opened to great fanfare nearly a decade ago, and initially home to a number of flagship domestic contracts, its order book is drying up fast.

Both the Tories and Labour took to its shopfloor in the weeks before election campaigning with promises to revive its fortunes, the latter’s plan wrapping around a wider railway nationalisation programme.

That will take time, but the seconds are ticking for Hitachi.

Action must be prompt; letting a company in the cradle of the railway succumb to an early death would be unforgiveable.

Energising a post-coal future

Better news at Port of Tyne, where LS Eco Advanced Cables’ hopes to create a £923 million high-voltage cable factory.

Described as the “world’s largest” plant of its type, the company – a joint venture between Global InterConnection Group and a subsidiary of Korean cable maker LS Group – says it would deliver “dependable zero-carbon energy” by removing a “bottleneck in energy transition”.

Planning permission could be secured this year, ahead of production beginning in 2027.

All very positive and another sizeable tick in the region’s sustainability box.

The North East has long talked about a post-coal economy, and with projects from Teesside to Northumberland complementing support for headline programmes like Dogger Bank wind farm, that vision is becoming increasingly real.

But we cannot become complacent; we must continue creating the conditions

– the land, the skills, the transport links, the wider economic opportunities – that catch and keep investors’ eyes.

A welcome change

It was refreshing to see England’s men and women take to St James’ Park recently.

For too long, the men’s football team has been anchored to Wembley as the game’s governing body seeks to recoup the stadium’s substantial redevelopment costs.

But the sport shouldn’t be limited to one ground and one city; the women’s team has toured the country for a number of years and the impact on the sport has been huge.

The men played at Middlesbrough and Sunderland when the old Wembley was being bulldozed and rebuilt, and the effect was similar, with packed houses desperate to watch household names in the flesh.

And it’s not just the footballing experience; games provide a great economic and cultural boost to host cities and towns too.

But money talks, which means Harry Kane & Co’s North East visit will highly likely be an exception, than, sadly, the beginning of any new normal.

A place where opportunity thrives

www.northeast-ca.gov.uk

Fresh from victory in the recent North East mayoral election, Kim McGuinness has her sights set on delivering a new economic and social era for the north of the region. Here, she tells Steven Hugill about her blueprint, which includes commitments to reducing child poverty, improving public transport and preparing more workers for the jobs of tomorrow, how she is harnessing childhood experiences to action change and why a Labour ruling party will create more opportunity.

4Kim McGuinness looks out from a full height window.

In the distance, beyond weathered roof tiles and the swoops of a scheming seagull, a two carriage, navy and grey-liveried train slides silently across the High Level Bridge towards Newcastle.

The scene, filled out by summer blue skies and wispy white cloud, is all rather poetic, a picture of modern-day functionality coalescing with Victorian majesty.

So too is Kim’s vantage point, up high in the Pattern Shop, the Grade II-listed former workshop where Robert Stephenson built steam locomotives in the 1800s that gave rail travel to the world.

Rescued from crumbling despair, the site, tucked away on Newcastle’s Sussex Street, has been renovated – with a number of its original windows, beams and stanchions salvaged – into modern business space.

And standing on its third floor, Kim, elected the first North East mayor in May’s landmark ballot, has a similar reinvention blueprint to engineer lasting change for the region.

Using powers transferred from Whitehall in a headline-grabbing £4.2 billion devolution deal, her draught outlines a region where pillars of lower child poverty, increased social housing, an overflowing net-zero skills pipeline and a publiclycontrolled and greener transport network rise from foundations fashioned by centuries of industrial advances.

It could, though, have all been so different.

A child of Newbiggin Hall estate, the 1960s suburb in Newcastle’s West End, Kim’s move into politics was more serendipitous than strategic.

The daughter of a father who was a scaffolder at shipyards and Blyth Power Station, and a mother who, in Kim’s childhood, worked part-time in “sometimes insecure, lowpaid jobs”, Kim was the first person in her family to pursue higher education, studying history at Newcastle University before entering roles in finance, education and the charity sector.

LinkedIn: Kim McGuinness

Kim says: “I’m from a typical North East working-class family on a council estate.

“I never had any intention of being a politician – there wasn’t a singular moment or an awakening.

“But I was politically aware; I’d been a Labour Party member for a long time, and when you’ve been in a family like mine, you know you’re better off with a Labour Government.”

“The change to Labour in 1997 brought some real opportunities for people like me; we got a new school building, we got a new community centre,” says Kim who, as mayor, leads the North East Combined Authority, which covers the council areas of County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland.

She says: “But when I moved back to the North East after working away, things were changing.

“The coalition Government’s austerity programme was starting to bite; I saw the libraries, the community centres and the leisure centres – lifelines for me when I was younger –starting to go, and I didn’t think it was acceptable.

“So I started knocking on doors with my local MP Catherine McKinnell, ahead of the 2015 General Election, and she suggested I stand as a councillor for Newcastle City Council.”

Feeling she didn’t fit the mould of a councillor, Kim rebuffed the idea. Catherine, though, was insistent.

Kim says: “I told her it was something I saw people doing at different stages of their lives; my typical view of a councillor was someone at the other end of their career.

“But she said, ‘you’re wrong, we need more women, we need more people that are reflective of the local community and who have life experience to bring with them’.

“I said I’d think about it for the future, but she came back again and that time I agreed to stand.

“I was unsuccessful, but the door knocking, the conversations and the realisation there was an opportunity to make a difference was infectious.

“So, a year later, in 2015, I stood for the Lemington ward and was successful.”

From there, Kim quickly took on a cabinet role, overseeing a communities, culture and sport portfolio and then a culture, sport and health remit, before stepping away from the council chamber in 2019 to pursue the role of Northumbria police and crime commissioner.

She says: “I’d starting doing some work while on the cabinet that was focused on preventing crime and violence, by supporting people with their health through tackling deprivation.

“And when the police and crime commissioner role came up, I saw the opportunities I’d have to reach into communities and make a difference.”

Words by Steven Hugill

by Mike Sreenan

Photography

“AS MAYOR, I WILL BE A LEADER, BUT I DON’T THINK POLITICIANS SHOULD KNOW ALL THE ANSWERS”

DON’T THE

“I’m really proud of my record,” says Kim, who was twice elected to the post, which holds Northumbria Police to account by acting as a bridge between the public and the force’s everyday operations.

She says: “We saw crime fall, and a significant reason for that was our focus on crime prevention and how the police could better work with public services.

“We recruited 700 officers and established the violence reduction unit, to understand and tackle the root causes of youth violence, and then help young people make alternative choices.

“Of course we want more police on the streets and results in court, but we’ve got to turn the taps off by giving young people a chance to be themselves.

“We also did very good work around violence against women and girls, and women’s safety in public spaces, with many people saying they felt safer on public transport.

“And the mayoral role is about continuing all of that work and more, not least in helping increase the number of women in politics.

“I’ve had people say to me, ‘my daughter was so excited to see you elected’, with others telling me they’re really pleased to see a woman in post.

“I stood against five men in the mayoral election and, prior to that, there were more metro mayors called Andy across the UK than there were women mayors.

“There are now three mayors – Claire Ward in the East Midlands, Tracy Brabin in West Yorkshire and I – but there is still a huge amount of work to do.

“It has become more difficult for women in politics, with those who put their heads above the parapet to serve faced with hideous online abuse and threats.

“But we need to encourage more women to stand and make a difference, to change the political landscape and make it a more welcoming place for women.”

Kim adds: “I love the region and its people, and I want things to be better.

“I’VE ALWAYS AND TALKED THAT WILL

“The last Government’s ‘levelling-up’ policy was a complete failure.

“It should have spelled opportunity, but it was so badly delivered and so focused on a handful of glossy infrastructure projects – a lot of which didn’t happen – that to mention the phrase now causes people to give a tired sigh.”

In response, Kim, who claimed more than 58,000 votes than nearest rival – and former Labour North of Tyne mayor-turned

independent candidate – Jamie Driscoll in May’s ballot, says she has created a manifesto that commits to great change across child development, social housing and skills.

It also pledges significant transport improvements, not least the revival of the mothballed Pelaw-to-Ferryhill Leamside rail line, which has stood idle since the early 1990s when freight trains joined Beeching-hit passenger services in the buffers.

Building on a longer campaign to resuscitate the route

ALWAYS GOT OUT THERE TALKED TO PEOPLE, AND WILL CONTINUE ”

– which cuts through green boltholes and old mining settlements between Gateshead and County Durham – work is well underway on a business case for a so-called Washington Metro Loop that would link the line to the Nexus-run light railway network and create new connections at Washington and Follingsby.

Kim says: “I’ve set out a very ambitious – and long-term –vision.

“Some things, like extending the Metro and Leamside Line investment, will take time.

“But as work continues on those projects, we’re making improvements to other areas.

“Right from my first day, I was very clear we needed to gain control of our buses and we’ve already made progress.

“We’ve started to look at how we build more homes, particularly more social housing, and we’re establishing a high streets commission to breathe new life into our built-up areas.

“We’re also assessing a different approach to upskilling our workforce, to make sure we’re at the forefront of the green industrial revolution, whether that’s building more sustainable houses or delivering for the offshore wind sector, for example.

“And that means ensuring young people, including those from our deprived areas, have access to training and jobs.

“They are the people who will create the future, who will

work in ways we can’t yet imagine.

“We have to be ready.”

Kim adds: “I want more people to see they can have successful careers in the North East.

“To do that, we’re looking to work more with schools to support ambition and highlight opportunities, and are looking at how we can support people to get into jobs without necessarily having to achieve a certain level of qualification.

“We’re working to identify skills gaps that will implement relevant training courses, and are focused on putting more of these courses into certain communities, to help remove barriers for people who might not want to go to a shiny college building.”

Fundamental to delivering such, says Kim, will be industrial relations.

Such commitment was showcased recently by £25 million North East Combined Authority funding to support the remediation of former shipyard land in readiness for construction of the £450 million FulwellCain-led Crown Works Studios.

Set for Pallion, beside Sunderland’s River Wear, bosses say it will generate as many as 8450 jobs and operate as one of Europe’s largest film and television recording complexes.

But commercial sector backing, says Kim, will extend far

beyond cash investments, with broader alliances fostered through regular conversations.

She says: “As mayor, I will be a leader, but I don’t think politicians should know all the answers.

“I’ve always got out there and talked to people, and that will continue.

“I need to work with businesses to understand the support they need.”

Similarly valuable, says Kim, will be her direct link to Sir Keir Starmer and his front bench, which she says will channel commercial sector wants to key departments while highlighting the region’s prowess in sectors such as renewable energy, technology and life sciences to a wider audience.

She says: “Having a single point of contact in the region, a link to the Government who is at the end of a phone and who can go into bat for national infrastructure projects, has the potential to make such a difference.

“For example, I recently met a delegation of 60 Indian tech businesses that are thinking about investing in the North East, and spoke at a space conference about the region’s potential in that sector too.

“And I’m talking to businesses along the banks of the river about opportunities in green energy, and transferring that information back to Westminster to show how we’re leading the way in that sector.”

Kim adds: “That will all help build on the increased opportunities afforded by a Labour Government.

“As a Labour mayor, there is a clear set of shared values between the party and I, and an understanding too that my unrelenting focus is to make this region better.

“And the party’s commitment to devolving more power is music to my ears.

“We need more devolution, to give people greater choice closer to home; as a region, we are furthest away from Westminster and still rely on too many decisions being made there.

“But bringing more powers to the North East, and having more of a say about our economic future and the social issues that wrap around that, will help us grow.”

A ruling Labour Party, though, doesn’t mean Kim will operate in a red rose silo.

On the contrary, she has already stepped across the region’s political and geographical divide to forge links with Tees Valley Conservative counterpart Ben Houchen, who secured a third term as the area’s regeneration boss in May.

She says: “I’ve always said regional mayors are about place before party; we have to work together.

“I reached out to Ben very early on, to discuss the public transport that cuts across our respective boundaries.

“And we have sat down to talk about how we can better join up our approach.

“We have different views on how we might do that, but

we need to find solutions so people can access opportunity across our entire region.

“And there will be more things we can work on together.

“Furthermore, I want to look at how we can build stronger links with Scotland and do similar things with North Yorkshire and Cumbria too.”

She adds: “I want to see child poverty reduced, I want people to feel the improvement in public transport, I want us to build more social housing and I want us to be known as the place where opportunity thrives.

“This region is the best place in the world, and it’s my absolute privilege to have the chance to make it even better.”

“I NEED TO WITH BUSINESSES TO UNDERSTAND THE SUPPORT THEY NEED”

WORK BUSINESSES UNDERSTAND SUPPORT

ROUNDTABLE: HOW CAN THE NORTH EAST CAPITALISE ON DEVOLUTION?

Creating a blueprint for success across the region’s new political landscape

With Kim McGuinness now leading the north of the region’s devolution power grab, attention turns to the measures needed to catalyse landmark economic and social change. Here, in the second of a series of executive-level roundtable discussions held by North East Times alongside Fairstone, the UK’s fastest-growing wealth advisory firm, regional business leaders look at the moves needed to deliver tangible prosperity.

Words by Steven Hugill

Photography by Angela Carrington

WHAT DOES THE NEW COMBINED AUTHORITY MEAN FOR THE NORTH OF THE REGION?

To speak of the North East’s past is to paint pictures of pioneering rail travel, dust-covered miners and behemothic seafaring vessels peering over terraced streets.

What, though, of the future?

Fundamental to answering that question, said roundtable members, will be the North East Combined Authority.

Chartered surveyor Kevan Carrick, co-founder of Newcastlebased JK Property Consultants, said: “We need a strong economic growth plan, and the mayor to act as a marketeer.”

Dr Arnab Basu, co-founder and chief executive of Sedgefield-

based radiation detection kit maker Kromek Group, said: “We need to very quickly identify what the region stands for.”

Clare Loveridge, vice president and general manager of Europe, the Middle East and Africa at global cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf, added: “People don’t think about there being wealth in the North East; they think about the good night out they’ve had – and that sticks.”

HOW IMPORTANT IS A QUALITY AND SUSTAINED HOUSING SUPPLY TO THE FUTURE SUCCESS OF THE REGION?

Ian Johnson, executive director of customer services at North East housing association Karbon Homes, highlighted figures showing more than 75,000 people are waiting for social housing across the region.

He said: “Even if we continue at the current building rate, it will be around 30 years before the person at the bottom of the list gets a property.”

IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO DEVELOP THE REGION’S TALENT PIPELINE?

Richard Brown, chief executive of Newcastle-based Melius Cyber, which protects clients from online threats, said: “We need to know what skills the country needs now, and what it is going to need in 15 years' time.”

Lee Hartley, chief executive at event host Fairstone, which is the UK’s fastest-growing wealth advisory firm, advocated a prioritising of qualifications key to economic success. He said: “We need to have the conversation with schools and universities that while certain courses are worthwhile, they’re not necessarily going to create the type of wealth and prosperity we need.”

WHAT MEASURES COULD BE IMPLEMENTED TO STRENGTHEN TIES BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND EDUCATION?

Chris cited the Ryder Architecture and Gateshead College-led PlanBEE apprenticeship programme, which prepares youngsters for construction management, engineering and rail sector roles.

He said: “I know there are discussions under way across the financial services and digital sectors to do something similar at further education level.

“The new mayoral authority must build on that.”

Ian added: “We must build new infrastructure and showcase opportunities around net-zero and renewable technologies.”

Dr Fozia Saleem, chief executive at Sedgefield-based Magnitude Biosciences, called for frameworks to better connect students with professional paths.

She said: “I did an industrial placement at GlaxoSmithKline’s research and development headquarters, which showed me there were so many other careers out there beyond being ‘a scientist’.”

Clare said: “There remains a huge problem around educating people of the opportunities in this region.”

Dr Basu added: “We need to make this region a home for the future; presently, not many graduates see it as that.”

IS ENOUGH BEING DONE TO NURTURE SUFFICIENT NUMBERS OF NEXT GENERATION COMPANIES?

Ed Twiddy, director of environment, society and government at Durham-headquartered digital lender Atom bank, said the new mayoral authority must use its influence to help companies dealing with investors’ changing priorities and the winding down of the European Regional Development Fund.

He said: “We cannot have programmes like Northern Accelerator finding and funding great proof of concept opportunities, and then allowing them to fall off the conveyor belt.

“The new mayor provides a great opportunity to rejig funding allocation.”

ROUNDTABLE:

HOW VITAL ARE GOOD TRANSPORT LINKS TO THE REGION’S FUTURE PROSPERITY?

Lee said: “We need to make the North East easier to do business with. Train travel is very expensive – I can fly to our Dublin office for a quarter of the price it takes for a rail ticket to London. I also can’t go to Bristol and back in the same day, and the region’s transatlantic flight closed after a very short window. If we improve connectivity, business will flourish.”

HOW CAN THE NORTH OF THE REGION’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY SUPPORT THE MAYOR AND COMBINED AUTHORITY TO DELIVER POSITIVE CHANGE?

While elected with a multitude of pledges, roundtable members agreed the mayor’s endeavours must be accompanied by commercial sector support.

Ed said: “The mayor has to sell the region, but we have to help by providing the ammunition.

“Our skill sets are internationally competitive and our technologies are world-beating.

“And we must now scale them.”

This article is an abridged version of the full roundtable discussion, which you can read by visiting www. netimesmagazine. co.uk

The findings and discussion points from the roundtable series will be collated to create a Fairstonesponsored white paper, which will recommend steps to catalyse the region’s growth agenda. It will be published early next year.

‘A record of delivery, a promise of

Photography by Ben Benoliel

Having secured a third term as Tees Valley mayor, Ben Houchen is now rolling out a refreshed blueprint for the south of the region. Here, he tells Steven Hugill about the headline elements of his plan, which include a new hospital, an investment zone earmarked to create more than 2000 jobs and further development of Teesside International Airport.

4Congratulations on your re-election. What are your key priorities for your third term in office?

I’m turning my attention to our towns, high streets and communities, working alongside the Tees Valley Business Board to ensure SMEs are getting support at the granular level.

On a more strategic level, we’ll be ramping up the work of Hartlepool and Middlesbrough Development Corporations while, in towns without them, interventions working with the local councils are already under way.

The Teesside Investment Zone will also be established in earnest, working with Teesside University and with £160 million of Government funding to boost our digital tech and creative sectors right across the region.

This is primed to create more than 2000 jobs and potentially unlock a further £175 million of extra investment.

After Andy Street’s West Midlands deposing, you are now the UK’s only Conservative metro-mayor. What does that say about your record over your previous two terms?

Since my first anniversary in office in 2018, I’ve worked on the principle of ‘a record of

delivery, a promise of more’, which I think speaks for itself.

People can see the investments and schemes I’ve helped secure, the jobs we have created and are enjoying the transformation of their towns with infrastructure projects.

Whether it’s Net Zero Teesside or SeAH Wind at Teesworks, upgrades to all our major railway stations or things like the TeesFlex bus service, the redevelopment of Redcar’s Regent Cinema and the creation of Darlington’s bioscience-focused National Horizons Centre, there are real, tangible examples of how our work has made a huge impact.

You faced criticism during your election campaign around the Teesworks scheme, which is seeking to turn ex-Redcar steelworks land into a clean energy hub. Opponents continue to lobby for a National Audit Office enquiry on the back of an independent review into the project that made 28 recommendations and called for greater transparency. What is your response to their calls?

The Tees Valley Review made it clear there was no evidence of corruption or wrongdoing, vindicating our work at Teesworks.

We’ve taken on board the recommendations and set up a working group to address every point it laid out, but it’s important to remember how unique Teesworks is – there's no blueprint for this sort of thing.

As far as I’m concerned, we now need to look to the future to bring more businesses, jobs and investment to the site, which is going to transform our local economy.

A key pillar of your plans is a commitment to building a replacement for Stockton’s University Hospital of North Tees. However, the Department of Health and

Social Care has previously inferred such a scheme lies outside your authority. How will you make the blueprint a reality against that backdrop? I’ve proved people wrong in the past about delivering things that appear to be outside of my remit, and I’ll do it again.

We can work with the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust to deliver a capital budget that complements their operational budget.

And, quite frankly, we've made the case to the Government before for transformational projects, and I think we can again.

Teesside International Airport is another of your flagship redevelopment projects. You’ve added flights to its roster and attracted aviation-based tenants, and work is being carried out to create a new business park. How sustainable is the base, and where are you looking to make further improvements?

The airport is continuing in line with its tenyear turnaround plan, and the first unit and link road for the business park have been completed.

It’s incredibly sustainable, given the recent announcements of FedEx increasing its operations by moving its freight flight operation from Newcastle, and (aircraft painting company) Airbourne Colours coming to our newly-built hangar.

In the future, it has a key role to play in the development and uptake of sustainable aviation fuel, and is working with five local firms that have been awarded £40 million to carry out research and development.

They include Willis, which already has a base at the airport and is bringing its sustainable aviation fuel project to Teesworks.

It’s this joined-up operation that really makes a difference and allows the airport to be more than just flights to Alicante – as important as they are.

For passengers, in 2023 we enjoyed our best year for 12 years, and we want to improve further this year, with a new service to Dalaman.

We’ve also worked hard to maintain crucial routes such as the service to Aberdeen, which is vital for our offshore workers.

I’m also working with the airport to secure flights to Malaga and Tenerife – an election pledge I’m confident I can deliver.

Your tenure as mayor has always been accompanied by national Conservative rule. However, as North East Times Magazine went to print, polls were suggesting Labour would be successful at the General Election. If those projections prove correct, how would working

“People can see the investments and schemes I’ve helped secure, the jobs we have created and are enjoying the transformation of their towns”

alongside a rival party affect your role?

I’ve worked alongside Labour leaders all my political life, and all five local authorities are currently Labour-run and make up the rest of the Tees Valley Combined Authority cabinet.

It’s nothing new. The point is to find common ground.

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to go further with devolution, which will give me more powers and money to do my job and deliver for local people.

The region now has two directly-elected regeneration leaders, with Labour’s Kim McGuinness installed as the first North East mayor. You both have remits and priorities for your respective geographies, but is there scope for you to work together and collectively strengthen the region?

Obviously, there’s a lot of crossover in our respective areas in terms of where people work and live; you only have to look at the likes of Hitachi, in County Durham, which employs workers from Darlington.

And I’ve never been shy about banging the drum for its success, or for Nissan, in Sunderland.

But my main priority is to improve the lives of people in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. I’m happy to work with any of my counterparts if it provides what I genuinely believe is in the best interests of those I serve.

And my door would always be open to discuss wider-ranging schemes if they would help meet my goals.

North East HR&D AwardsTo find out more about the awards, or to enquire about how your business could be a partner at next year's event, visit the website at the top of this article.

Stars shine brightly at 2024 North East HR&D Awards

The North East HR&D Awards made a spectacular return to once again celebrate the sector’s leading organisations and individuals.

www.northeasthrdawards.co.uk

LinkedIn: North East HR&D Awards

They’re the bee’s knees!

The stars of the region’s HR and learning and development world were crowned at a fun-filled Roaring Twenties-themed event.

An audience of more than 400 packed into The Fed, in Gateshead, for the 2024 North East HR&D Awards, which featured frivolity, flapper dancing and finalists across 12 hotly-contested categories.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Ltd picked up the excellence in people and technology title, with Byggfakta Group awarded the excellence in talent attraction and employer brand accolade.

Chevron Traffic Management won the excellence in inclusivity and diversity award, Universal Wolf was named excellence and positive impact award winner, and ConocoPhillips walked away with the excellence in organisational and people development prize.

Elsewhere, ZIGUP secured the excellence in apprenticeships title, Marelli Automotive Systems UK was named excellence in health and wellness winner and Gentoo received the excellence in leadership award.

Bloom Procurement Services picked up the excellence in supporting armed forces talent accolade, Mediaworks was handed the excellence in reward and benefits title and O Agency received the excellence in SME people practice award.

Komatsu UK picked up the HR&D team of the year title.

The annual spectacle – which this year attracted a near 40 per cent increase in awards submissions – was delivered through a new partnership with North East Times.

Pete Mallon, the multi-platform publisher’s creative and managing director, says: “HR&D is a crucial component to any organisation’s success.

“And the innovative work taking place across our region meant judges, from the North East Work and Talent advisory board, were faced with some extremely tough decisions. There was a real buzz in the room, and it was a delight to see so many smiling faces and people enjoying the evening's entertainment, as well as the successes of their peers."

Elouise Leonard-Cross and Sarah Carnegie, North East Work and Talent advisory board joint chairs, add: “The huge response and increase in entries shows the profession has a lot to share and celebrate.

“The North East Work and Talent advisory board is proud to have collaborated with North East Times to secure the future delivery of these awards, and are looking forward to 2025.”

The evening – which also included music from Beth Ellis and a fun Beamish quiz – raised £2887.25 for Forward Assist, the military charity that helps veterans adjust to civilian life through support that boosts skills and improves physical and mental health.

The ceremony was supported by associate partner TDR Training, which delivers apprenticeship and higher education courses to hundreds of learners every year from its North Tyneside headquarters.

Award category partners included Esh Group, Jackson Hogg, MI-Say, Newcastle University Business School and Northumbrian Water.

Further partners were NPH Group, People Science Consulting, Sullivan Brown HR Recruitment, Tailored Thinking and Womble Bond Dickinson.

Beamish was an event partner, with North East Apprenticeship Ambassador Network the night’s programme partner and Talentheads the evening’s photobooth partner.

For a full gallery of images from the evening, visit www.northeasthrdawards.co.uk/live/en/page/gallery

Lycetts

One of the UK's leading independentlyoperated insurance brokers, Lycetts provides bespoke financial services and commercial, private client, farm and estate, and bloodstock insurance advice.

It is part of the Benefact Group, a family of specialist financial services businesses that gives all available profits to charity and good causes.

Lycetts champions mental health with star-powered boxing talk

The importance of strong mental health support was highlighted at a recent event hosted by Newcastle-headquartered Lycetts, which featured a talk with Olympic boxing hopeful Adam ‘Big Future’ Olaore and Big Brother winner-turned-businessman Anthony Hutton.

www.lycetts.co.uk

LinkedIn: Lycetts

Independently-operated insurance broker Lycetts hosted a star-studded event focused on improving mental health support.

Held at the company’s headquarters, in Newcastle’s Bank House, and supported by North East Times and mental health app provider Leafyard, the evening saw guest speakers share their experiences of dealing with the mental pressures that come with unexpected fame and celebrity status.

Former Dynamo North East chair Charlie Hoult talked to Newcastle heavyweight Olympic boxing contender Adam ‘Big Future’ Olaore about the impact of sporting success on his mental health.

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Adam came to Newcastle aged 14, joining Howdon Boxing Academy and then Empire School of Boxing, in Blyth.

A national youth champion at 17 and senior English national amateur champion in 2023, Adam is also a GB Three Nations champion and recently won gold at the African Games, in Ghana.

He will represent Nigeria at this summer’s Olympic Games, in Paris.

Additionally, Anthony Hutton, a winner of television reality show Big Brother, who has run a barbershop in Darlington for a number of years, highlighted his mission to tackle male suicide through his recently launched charity ‘Never Throw in the Towel’.

And Jon Davies, behavioural science expert and Leafyard founder, shared his thoughts on human behaviours and habits.

“This event was a fascinating and inspiring insight into how people can take control of their mental health, as well as give friends, family and colleagues support when and where it is needed,” says Charles Renwick,

Lycetts’ divisional director. He adds: “It is crucial we spread this awareness across our communities and workplaces, creating spaces where mental health is openly addressed and properly supported.”

Pictured, left, from left to right, are Adam Olaore, Charlie Hoult, Jon Davies, Anthony Hutton and Charles Renwick

Pictured on opposite page, Big Brother winner-turnedbusinessman Anthony Hutton

Talking Point

Finding consistency in a changing world

With artificial intelligence continuing to further influence all elements of life, how important is it we harness its benefits while maintaining valuable human input to operations? Can the two co-exist harmoniously, or has society’s reliance on AI already become too deep-rooted?

STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN AUTOMATION AND HUMAN INPUT

Mark Lancaster

Supply chain operations manager

Bergen Logistics UK, Newcastle

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming supply chain management, offering significant improvements in efficiency, accuracy and cost savings, something I and many others in the sector are having to scramble to learn more about.

It’s evolving on an almost daily basis, and staying up-to-date can be challenging.

AI can streamline logistics, predict demand and manage inventory.

It can even help refine supplier selection processes.

But, as we rapidly integrate AI into these systems, it’s vital to strike a balance between automation and the essential human input required in warehouses, where people are responsible for moving and picking products.

Embracing AI’s benefits, while preserving the value of human expertise, is key, and something Bergen Logistics is implementing in the form of warehouse management systems.

AI is brilliant at processing vast amounts of data and handling repetitive tasks.

Yet, at the moment, it lacks the subtle understanding of nuances and creativity that humans provide.

Human expertise remains crucial for strategic decisions, managing complex relationships and addressing unexpected challenges.

For instance, we use tools to predict supply chain disruptions based on historical data, but human managers are essential for crafting and executing innovative solutions to these disruptions.

Currently, only supply chain professionals have the experience and skills to put creative measures in place, which AI lacks.

The synergy between AI and human input can boost overall efficiency and adaptability.

An AI system can manage routine tasks and offer data-driven insights, freeing human workers to tackle more complex, value-added activities, which is integral in a complex fulfilment operation like ours.

This collaboration leads to a more responsive and resilient supply chain.

In situations like sudden market shifts or supply chain shocks, human intuition and experience are invaluable for quickly adjusting strategies, particularly regarding the bigger picture, and there is real concern excessive reliance on AI might undermine human judgement and expertise.

It's crucial to design AI systems that augment human capabilities rather than replace them.

This means investing in ongoing training and upskilling the workforce to work effectively with AI technologies.

Transparent and responsible AI practices are essential to building trust and ensuring the benefits are broadly shared.

It’s down to us supply chain professionals

to decide what we think would work best in our operations, as the landscape is changing at a rapid pace, and we can’t be left behind as our customers want optimum value from a business partner.

At the same time, investing in expensive AI systems, which are relatively unproven in parts of the industry, can be a big risk.

LEVERAGING AI TO ENHANCE LEARNING, TEACHING AND THE WORKPLACE

Professor Mark Simpson Deputy vice-chancellor Teesside University

From Microsoft Office to the Amazon platform, AI underpins most of the software and technology we use in everyday life.

We are continuously seeing advancements in AI – tech companies have invested heavily in exploring its capabilities; businesses are increasingly adopting AI-based systems and processes; and people are eagerly awaiting the next ‘big thing’.

As educators, we encourage our students and staff to experiment and innovate, our very purpose is to prepare graduates for the future world of work, so shouldn’t we be leading by example?

We believe that if we are to deliver education which is truly future facing, we need to be at the forefront of the discovery stage of new technologies, leveraging AI to enhance learning, teaching and, ultimately, the workplace.

This is one of the reasons why we recently organised an inaugural National Future Facing Learning Conference to bring together industry leaders, researchers and educators to share best practice in areas such as AI.

While AI is unlikely to result in the wholesale loss of jobs, there is little doubt it will impact tasks people might ordinarily do in the workplace.

If we continue to teach those tasks in the same way we always have, we are not necessarily equipping our students with the skills they will need in the future.

The complexity of AI means a one-size-fits-all approach is not the solution, and AI’s impact must be understood at a local level.

This is true of all sectors and industries, not just education.

At Teesside, we are in the process of developing an AI policy.

However, we fully expect this to be nuanced and implemented in different ways depending on the subject or sector.

We must understand the tasks AI can carry out in our business that people can’t, and where it can, or cannot, add value to what we do.

I have always been extremely positive about embracing technology where it can enhance learning and teaching.

However, we must also recognise its limitations and, in some cases, the threats and ethical implications.

We need to be aware of these less positive aspects and develop ethical frameworks.

While it may be appropriate to use AI in developing a computer programme or performing complex calculations, is it ethical to use in a subject such as photography?

And, if so, how do we educate people to tell the difference between an AI generated image and one taken in life?

These are the questions we need to be asking and developing solutions and answers for.

Whatever the organisation, an AI strategy needs to start with people and supporting them to understand the technology and its capabilities.

It can seem complex and inaccessible.

But managed correctly, it represents a real opportunity to significantly enhance the future of education and business.

The Big Question

The UK economy will grow at a slower pace than any other G7 country next year, according to recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development findings. Against that backdrop, what measures do you think Westminster must prioritise to stimulate fresh financial activity?

GRAEME CARTER

Founder and owner

Shred Direct

I’ve always believed small businesses are vital to the UK economy, and the G7 prediction only amplifies their importance.

The new Government must find ways of stimulating the economy, and I believe helping small and medium-sized businesses will be a huge step forward in improving the potential outlook.

Small businesses need to be able to borrow money to grow, and the Government can help by making it easier for companies to get loans from banks and making the bureaucracy simpler when applying for grants and other assistance.

Westminster can also make it easier for small businesses to gain access to public sector contracts.

There is a huge amount of potential work out there, across areas such as the NHS, higher education and local government.

Why should these contracts go to the big boys without small companies even getting a look in?

They also need to look beyond the here and now.

The Government needs to put more thought into business studies in schools and colleges.

Our children are going to be the entrepreneurs of the future, so why not give them the knowledge they’ll need to start building their own companies in years to come?

DONNA JAMES Research director

Populus Select

The UK economy has lagged behind other G7 nations for nearly 15 years.

Westminster must focus on boosting investment, which has lingered around 17 per cent of GDP, below the G7 average of 20 to 25 per cent.

Emphasis should be placed on green technology, strategic national industries like energy, AI and creative services, and nurturing homegrown talent.

Low productivity, driven by insufficient investment in corporate skills and people management, requires a shift from short-term to long-term thinking.

A pro-investment tax regime is essential to breaking this cycle.

The UK Infrastructure Bank needs more capital and staff to match its European counterparts.

By increasing funding and resources, it can support promising university spin-outs and private sector start-ups, particularly in green tech, helping the transition to net-zero.

Fiscal measures should align with monetary policy; tax reductions should only occur when monetary policy eases.

A reformed tax regime, which taxes inherited wealth more than income, can address the income gap and incentivise training and talent development.

Without these changes, the UK risks continued economic stagnation.

Proactive policies are crucial for fostering sustained economic growth and innovation.

It’s time for Westminster to act decisively and ambitiously to secure the nation's economic future.

GILL HUNTER Managing partner Square One Law

To instigate real and positive change, there needs to be less focus on headline-grabbing side issues and a concerted effort to deliver genuine impact.

Many senior politicians don’t like to speak of it, but Brexit is one of the most significant factors holding us back.

Leaving the EU has led to challenges and additional costs for many businesses.

Securing a fast, effective solution, which forges better relationships with Europe and frees up businesses to resume more commercially-viable trade, has the potential to provide a significant boost to the economy.

Nothing grows without an investment – whether that’s an investment in care, attention, time or money.

We know the digital industry has potential for growth, and so funding needs to be made available to support true digital transformation, with money going directly to businesses rather than funded programmes – businesses know how best to invest to get results, they don’t need intermediaries.

And attract more skills; reverse the hike in the threshold for families of overseas students and workers.

There simply isn’t capacity within our own population, so let’s promote working with universities to improve the attractiveness of the UK as a study destination for overseas students.

MARK STEPHENSON Managing director Stephenson-Mohl Group

The UK is not generating enough wealth; indeed, Germany, France and the US all have higher rates of productivity.

There are rarely easy answers when it comes to generating growth.

Governments often understand how to bring spending cuts to fruition yet struggle to innovate, disrupt and change the policy nexus that governs growth.

As a small business owner, who has quite literally generated investment from nothing, this can be frustrating to watch.

The first bit of advice for an incoming Government is to disrupt – think about growth differently from early years education onwards.

As a country, we have never placed starting a business or becoming self-employed at the heart of our economic strategy.

If fiscal stability is the umbrella under which our national wealth, health and defence are protected, then creating a business and generating wealth should be more than just an opportunity.

Political and policy instability has crippled business investment since the financial crisis.

Policies with regards energy, infrastructure, planning and international trade have been fired off into the night air.

The result is that we are lagging behind our peers.

In short, we need stable, consistent and even boring leadership.

Cutting through the noise – Read more about Stephenson-Mohl Group on pages 42 and 43.

Join the debate on LinkedIn

StephensonMohl Group

To find out more about StephensonMohl Group’s support, and how it could help your business, visit the website or contact the email address at the top of this article.

Cutting through the noise

Politics impacts all aspects of life. From local level planning determinations to national policy and legislation, politics is at the crux of all decision making, not least across the private sector. And helping firms better understand the landscape – and shape its agenda – is leading public affairs consultancy Stephenson-Mohl Group. Here, Steven Hugill speaks to founder and managing director Mark Stephenson about its expert support and the power of information and strong relationships as the country embarks on national political change and the North East begins a new devolved future.

www.stephenson-mohl.co.uk

contact@stephenson-mohl.co.uk

@Stephenson-Mohl Group

From town hall to Whitehall, British politics and its overlap of laws, legislation and lexicon can be, for many, an indecipherable knot of complexity.

Relief then for public affairs consultancy StephensonMohl Group.

Connecting organisations with decision-makers at all levels across the UK, it helps clients shape local decisionmaking and the legislative agenda, raises awareness of key issues and helps them navigate regulatory hurdles.

Led by founder and managing director Mark

Stephenson, the business – whose name takes inspiration from Mark’s regional roots, which date back to the German sword-making Mohl family that settled in Shotley Bridge in the 17th century – is dedicated to generating great incision for clients.

Launched seven years ago, the Newcastle-based business, which will soon open a second office in Westminster, has supported numerous multi-sector and charity projects from Devon to the Scottish borders, which have created thousands of jobs and delivered around £4.5 billion in GVA to the North East alone.

Mark says: “It’s one thing being heard but it’s another thing being listened to.

“We create as much incision as possible, working from national parliaments to local authorities, to ensure organisations are listened to and ensure their own commercial decision making is as informed and complete as it can be.”

“And there is no company like us in the North East,” adds Mark of Stephenson-Mohl Group, which works with firms across sectors including housebuilding, advanced manufacturing, education, health and renewable energy, and is on track to double growth for a second consecutive year.

That distinction is borne out by the collective expertise of its team, with former North East Chamber of Commerce policy expert Mark, head of public affairs Chris McHugh, public affairs managers Alex Kirkup and Georgia Jamieson, head of communications Rebecca Johnson and former council leader and head of policy Simon Henig representing a formidable line-up.

Mark says: “Politics is a blind spot for many companies, which can’t be overcome by a quick Google search.

“We act as advocates, building levels of understanding that supports a company or a project from the earliest possible point, using relations from parish to Westminster level, to add honesty and clarity to the process.”

“Public affairs is as much an art as it is science – and we’re good at balancing the development of softer relationships over the long term and providing detailed quantitative evidence to support clients to accompany that,” says Mark.

He adds: “We understand the political landscape and have solid working relationships with many of the political figures that shape it, whether at cabinet level or elsewhere.

“This means we’re able to guide clients through a complex policy and regulatory framework, and a political landscape that is fraught with risk.”

And such knowledge, says Mark, will be vital as the region’s commercial sands shift against tides of national political change, headline devolution moves and investments into key sectors such as advanced manufacturing, energy, defence and education.

He says: “There are opportunities everywhere you look, and they’re all shaped by politics.

“The $3 trillion global renewable energy sector has

decided the North East is the best place to do business, so we’re in a wonderful position to generate growth from that sector.

“Then there’s defence; the Government, prior to the election, said it wanted to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP – and you can fully expect Labour to back that up, which equates to an extra £75 billion a year.

“That will mean the region’s rivers and coastlines are once again going to get very busy, with companies creating more jobs. It’s hugely exciting.

“We also know Labour wants more devolved powers, around areas such as planning, inward investment and maybe even health, to provide more authority for the country’s metro mayors.”

Mark adds: “Make no mistake, change is coming.

“And, as a business, we have the knowledge, expertise and relationships, both locally and nationally, to ensure organisations can navigate that evolving landscape in the best possible way.

“Long gone are the days of needing expertise from outside the region to help your organisation manage political risk and lever political processes to forge new opportunities.

“We have the expertise, and our track record speaks for itself.”

Engineering brighter futures

Good businesses flourish because of good people. And ensuring firms have access to the talent they need to thrive is TDR Training. Here, Steven Hugill speaks to Li Xue, the learning provider’s chief executive, and Olivia Grant and Ron Dodd, original trustees of the 25-year-old organisation, to learn more about its apprenticeship and higher education courses, and how it is working across the learning and employment sectors to catalyse engineering, manufacturing and science careers.

www.tdrtraining.co.uk

LinkedIn: TDR Training & Trust

TDR Training

To find out more about TDR Training’s apprenticeships, which cover areas including engineering and manufacturing, business administration and science, its HNC courses and its staff upskilling, visit the website at the top of this article. Alternatively, call 0191 491 1505.

“People were once taught engineering and manufacturing was a dirty job, and that they’d work in a factory if they didn’t try hard at school.

“I was appalled, and I wanted to do something about it.”

Much has changed since Ron Dodd first walked British Engines’ shopfloor as a sprightly apprentice seven decades ago.

But one thing hasn’t.

While skills policy and attitudes towards engineering and manufacturing have oscillated amid Westminster short-termism, Ron has remained devoted to securing the industry’s long-term future.

And nowhere is his constancy more pronounced than TDR Training, which every year cultivates hundreds of apprentices and upskills scores of existing company staff.

“TDR was set up to make engineering and manufacturing a worthwhile career for young people,” says Ron, who worked with ex-Tyneside Training and Enterprise Council boss – and fellow original TDR trustee – Olivia Grant on its foundation.

Olivia adds: “The impetus to set up TDR came from watching the difficulties North East employers had in competing against other parts of England to secure relevant employer-led skills training.

“The passion was to give employers a lead – and as much control as possible – in getting the training they needed to face future challenges.

“And it is still the driving reason behind TDR today.”

The commitment is reflected at TDR’s Quorum

Business Park headquarters, in North Tyneside, where lathes and milling machines, a recently-installed CNC machine workshop, a new welding and fabrication area and a fitting section are split into mini factorystyle islands by a central walkway.

Each and all are shopfloor replicas, with intricate Batman insignias, functional bottle cap openers and a sturdy mobile phone holder immediate evidence of their use.

The apparatus, though, is matched by strong industry relations and an equally robust appraisal of workplace nuances, delivered in no small part by 25-year-old TDR’s business support services team, which tailors training needs to companies’ wants.

The result, says Li Xue, chief executive, is a unique proposition.

She says: “We provide something very different.

“Learners can undertake full-time courses at other colleges and training providers, but many are not

guaranteed a job.

“We, though, find apprentices a job from day one.

“And because we own our premises, we can start them on courses all year round, as well as starting programmes in the traditional September cohort.

“We’re constantly talking to companies about learning requirements too; there isn’t presently a hydrogen power training curriculum, for example, so we’re looking to engage with businesses to create one.

“We support learners’ journeys in other ways too,” says Li of TDR, which was associate partner of the recent 2024 North East HR&D Awards and counts Komatsu, Siemens Energy and Simpsons Malt among its partner network.

She says: “We make training relevant; our machinery provides students with basic skills, but we think beyond that.

“We encourage students to be open in conversation, and allow them to document their achievements through their mobile phones, rather than a computer, because that’s what they’re most comfortable using.

“It’s a small thing, but it makes a big difference.”

Fundamental to students’ journeys is TDR’s operational model, which divides its 360-strong cohort into smaller classes to maximise learners’ exposure and sends tutors into industry to add real-time practice to its curriculum.

Li says: “We operate like a private school with classes of 16 students, which allows every learner to own a machine while on the course, and gives them more time to ask questions and understand information.

“Our tutors have dedicated development time, which means they can better shape lesson plans and participate in factory tours and experience days, to stay informed of industry changes.”

TDR’s focus spreads beyond apprentices, though, enveloping the entire education spectrum, with its teams regularly engaging with schools, to raise the engineering, manufacturing and science sectors as potential career avenues, and with firms to upskill existing staff.

Li says: “It’s our job to switch children on to career routes, and we recently welcomed three primary school teachers, who spent a full day – in overalls and boots – alongside some of our apprentices to understand their learning journey.

“Primary school teachers are mainly graduates, and we want them to see apprenticeships’ value and pass it to their pupils,” says Li of TDR, which has additionally

held LEGO building and robotics competitions with youngsters.

She adds: “We’ve also seen demand increase significantly for commercial courses, across areas such as manual centre lathe (turning), CAD and CNC, electrical awareness, IET wiring regulation, MAG, TIG and Oxy welding, and people wanting to study BTEC and HNC courses to progress to a degree.

“And that has extended far beyond the North East, with mechanical and machining learners, for example, coming from London, Scotland and even Saudi Arabia.

“Some companies have to adapt quickly to the changing market environment, so they’re upskilling existing staff to move projects forward.

“And thanks to our unique offer, we’re able to help them do that.”

ROUNDTABLE: HOW IS THE NORTH EAST AGRICULTURAL SECTOR ADAPTING TO A FAST-CHANGING WORLD?

Nourishing the lives of millions every year, the North East farming sector is a crucial cog in the country’s economic wheel. And with watershed environmental change sweeping across the industry at a time of wider climate awareness, its significance is primed to rise yet further.

Here, in a roundtable discussion held by North East Times alongside independentlyoperated insurance broker Lycetts and learning provider Education Partnership North East, farmers, business leaders and agricultural sector experts set a blueprint for future success.

Words by Steven Hugill

by Angela Carrington Roundtable:

WHAT IS THE PRESENT PICTURE ACROSS THE REGION’S FARMING LANDSCAPE?

Red. Green. Blue.

Primary colours for a primary cause.

Lights jabbing through grey skies, engines jolting neighbourhoods with a foreign sound, the battalion of tractors rolled in regimented formation.

Their drivers carried different national flags. They held different signs.

They spoke different languages. They blocked different roads behind the wheel of different marques and models.

But their tractors were always red, green and blue.

And they were one, an army of farmers united in protest across Great Britain and the European mainland over restrictive legislation, cheap imports and burdensome environmental plans.

Yet for all the halting of car-bound commuters and topless tourist buses, the North East’s agricultural sector, said Angus Nelless, who farms livestock at Longhorsley, near Morpeth, Northumberland, has a much more sanguine feel.

Spotlighting the replacement of the Basic Payment Scheme – which long subsidised farmers’ incomes through calculations of land and its use – with Environmental Land Management schemes designed to help meet climate change and conservation goals, he said the next decade stands to be “one of the most exciting we’ve had”.

He added: “There are a number of reasons to be optimistic, not least the end of the Basic Payment Scheme, which wasn’t really doing a job for anyone.

“With that gone, we have control to develop schemes and payments to benefit more people.”

Angus Collingwood-Cameron, lead consultant at

Photography

representative, lobbying and advice body Northern Farmers & Landowners Group, added: “With biodiversity moves and measures to reduce carbon, opportunities presented by regenerative farming and renewable energy, greater focus on the importance of food security and a booming tourism sector, we are in a really optimistic place.”

JUST HOW SIGNIFICANT IS THE CESSATION OF THE BASIC PAYMENT SCHEME, AND WHAT FRESH OPPORTUNITIES WILL ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT SCHEMES PRESENT?

November 2020 was hardly a stable time for British politics.

With COVID-19 continuing to blanket the country, policy beyond tackling the pandemic was, at best, blurred in a fog of confusion.

One notable measure to emerge from the mist, however, was the Agriculture Act, which promised to “empower farmers and land managers (to help them) stay competitive, increase productivity, invest in technology and seek a fairer return from the marketplace”.

Louis Fell, a director at Ellingham-based land, property, energy and business support organisation Brockthorpe Consultancy, said: “Farmers using the Basic Payment Scheme were a little like a child on Calpol; once they got a taste for it, they wanted to keep getting it.

“But Environmental Land Management schemes provide great opportunity for farmers to expand their enterprise, by looking after the flora and fauna and protecting wildlife.

“If you’re growing crops or producing animals, and you also have an environmental benefit attached to your business, you will be much more successful and resilient.”

Helen Pennock, a partner at accountancy and business advisory firm Ryecroft Glenton, urged greater clarity on the financial implications of change.

She said: “While a lot of opportunities have presented themselves from the decline of the Basic Payment Scheme, challenges remain.

“HMRC has introduced basis period reform, which

Roundtable: How is the North East agricultural sector adapting to a fast-changing world?

means that regardless of any accounting year end, businesses will be taxed on the income they earn in a tax year.

“The transition year will be April 5, 2024.

“For those that have a year-end of March 31, that doesn’t matter, but those with an April 30 year-end are effectively going to be taxed on two harvests, which is going to cause cashflow issues.”

HOW CAN THE REGION’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

HARNESS THE POTENTIAL AFFORDED BY ENVIRONMENTAL LAND MANAGEMENT SCHEMES

WHILE SUPPORTING THE UK’S WIDER CLIMATE GOALS?

Ross Lowrie, principal manager for net-zero and low-carbon growth at the mayoral-led North East Combined Authority, said: “The North East is very possibly the best place in the world when it comes to climate change, because while we will face future water shortages and flash flooding, data shows the effects will be felt much more keenly to the north and south of the region.

“As a combined authority, we’re developing a rural, coastal and environmental portfolio that contains agri-tech and climate adaptation as areas of focus, which hook into skills, innovation, the supply chain, infrastructure and investment.”

Ross found support from Chris Heathcote, director at Regenerate Outcomes, which is supporting Northumberland farmers to boost profitability through measures that include soil health improvement and biodiversity.

He said: “Farmers must be more profitable, more sustainable and less polluting to survive.

“Carbon in soil is absolutely essential to that, because it holds more water and therefore increases resilience to climate spikes, but we’ve been burning it, through intensive farming, since the Second World War.”

James Jackson, chief investment officer at True North European Real Estate Partners, whose portfolio includes a focus on sawlog production, concurred.

He said: “Forestry is probably one of the cheapest ways of sequestrating carbon.

“As long as it isn’t burnt, and the end product is used

“We have an opportunity to lead the climate change transition. We’re already spearheading world-leading innovation, with basalt rock dust being scattered on land in Northumberland to suck out carbon dioxide and improve soil while farming continues around"

–Ross Lowrie, North East Combined Authority principal manager for net-zero and low-carbon growth

“We don’t see enough reciprocal agricultural/skills partnerships in this region. I would willingly support, with funding, a strategic farming partnership that incorporates activities to accelerate the pipeline of next generation farmers through placements and agricultural projects”

–Ellen Thinnesen, Education Partnership North East chief executive

Roundtable: How is the North East agricultural sector adapting to a fast-changing world?

for things like housing, it is a cheap way of storing carbon.”

He added: “The region’s scale is a huge asset; it provides an opportunity to do more sustainable and locally-produced food, through measures like vertical farming, and we’re very close to the sea, and therefore sea kelp, which also helps with carbon sequestration.”

IMPLEMENTING SUCH MEASURES, THOUGH, WILL NOT BE WITHOUT CHALLENGE. WHERE ARE POTENTIAL AREAS OF CONCERN, AND HOW CAN THEY BE SURMOUNTED?

Approaching the subject from an indemnity perspective, William Nicholl, client director at independently-operated insurance broker Lycetts, warned questions remain unanswered.

He said: “Rural insurance is principally around insuring against weather events, and the influence of climate change is making events much harder to forecast; it is also driving reinsurance costs, which is increasing underlying premiums exponentially, particularly in high risk areas.

“Farmers using the Basic Payment Scheme were a little like a child on Calpol; once they got a taste for it, they wanted to keep getting it”

–Louis Fell, Brockthorpe Consultancy director

“And we need to know more about insuring carbon,” said William, who advises landowners, farmers and private clients nationwide.

William was backed by colleague Nick Straker, a Chartered financial planner within the financial services team at Newcastle-headquartered Lycetts, who raised concerns over a lack of sufficiently strong marketplace guidance.

He said: “It is difficult for the existing small and medium-sized farmer because they can’t do these things themselves.

“The danger, though, is that they seek advice from industry, which then takes the benefits of anything they do.

“And I worry about those farmers putting the land back to what it was, because that means smaller fields and smaller farming.”

Charlotte Patterson-Ryan, a partner in Newcastlebased law firm Muckle LLP’s agriculture, estates and private client team, took the discussion further.

Highlighting the Government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive, which rewards practices that produce food in a more environmentally-friendlier way, she warned relationships between tenant farmers and landowners

could become frayed as the latter conducts a “takeback”.

She said: “The incentives are a creeping challenge for tenant farmers.

“I know one who, when his tenancies were renewed, lost 900 acres of active farm because the landowner took the land back to put into Government schemes and receive subsidies.

“That acreage amounts to 3000 tonnes of food he won’t be able to produce, which equates to making two staff redundant because there won’t be the work.”

Ed Dungait, who combines work on his family’s farm in Stannington, near Blagdon, Northumberland, with time as council chair of the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs, called for balance.

He said: “If the landlord is greedy, and the tenant is old-fashioned and can’t adapt, then things are going to fall down.

“But if they are forward-thinking, then they will be able to work really well for the region.”

HOW CAN THE FARMING SECTOR ATTRACT AND RETAIN FUTURE GENERATIONS?

A business is only as strong as the people it keeps.

And if the farming sector is to truly fulfil its potential in the post-Basic Payment Scheme landscape, roundtable members said it must nurture today’s crops and animals while also remaining mindful of cultivating tomorrow’s workers.

Lee Lister, campus principal at learning provider Education Partnership North East’s Kirkley Hall Campus, near Ponteland – which operates as part of Northumberland College and includes a commercial beef and sheep farm and specialist sheep management centre – called for sustained action as early as possible across the education sector.

He said: “We must ignite a passion in young people, through impactful school engagement and ensure agriculture and other land-based disciplines are seen as a great career choice after compulsory education.

“We’re playing a key role in delivering change, with a transformed skills offer and high levels of technologically-focused investment.

“Nationally, we are the second top performing college in the country for agricultural achievement, and are first in terms of achievement for both young people and adults in the north of England.”

Will Dodd, a Hexham Auction Mart director, who also farms at Belsay, near Ponteland, said a rise in skills

and associated technological understanding would not only boost farming output and environmental goals, but help bolster pay packets too.

He added: “The sector has always been seen as a low reward, low wage industry.

“But profit equals investment, which means we could pay staff a decent wage, and attract individuals to an industry where there is an increasingly better work/life balance, with seven-day, 100-hour weeks now gone for a lot of people.”

BUT ARE EXISTING REGIONAL PATHWAYS SUFFICIENTLY STRONG ENOUGH TO DELIVER A ROBUST SKILLS PIPELINE?

According to latest Government figures, North East farms provided direct work for 10,123 people in 2023, which was comfortably the lowest regional share across England’s combined 292,401 workforce.

And Ellen Thinnesen, chief executive at Education Partnership North East, which also includes Sunderland College, Hartlepool Sixth Form and EPNE Training, raised worries the divide would endure without creation of a national rural strategy and a regional skills strategy, and significant prioritisation of capital investment into land-based colleges to support a skilled workforce.

To aid such, Claire Gibson, Kirkley Hall’s landbased curriculum manager, revealed how Education Partnership North East is ploughing furrows to seed the next generation.

She said: “We’ve transformed our farm, agricultural resources and curriculum, and are delivering on agriculture, animal livestock management, veterinary science, forestry, land management, conservation and ecology.

“We’ve set out a £45 million capital plan for the next ten years – and are working to secure backing from funders – which includes an agri-tech centre, a regenerative farming hub and a specialist university centre at Kirkley Hall.

“We’re also one of eight colleges working with the Department for Education to help shape future national funding policy, and will be trialling innovations in apprenticeships and bootcamps from September.”

However, while acknowledging the importance of generating and retaining talent in the region, Angus Collingwood-Cameron urged an acceptance of people wishing to explore environments beyond the North

Roundtable: How is the North East agricultural sector adapting to a fast-changing world?

East.

He said: “We mustn’t fret when our young people leave.

“Let them go and learn, and then bring knowledge back with them.”

SO, WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR FARMING IN THE NORTH EAST?

While accepting trial and tribulation will remain forever stitched into farming life, Angus Nellus nevertheless set a bullish tone.

He said: “I think we’re in a great position to lead the charge on agroecology and put evidence out there that it’s starting to work.

“If we can see the amount of carbon that is being sequestrated, that biodiversity is increasing, that the landscape is improving and that we are still producing food, then there is a lot we can achieve.”

Will said: “We have very good stock and arable production, and are not unheard of across the holiday cottage industry, either.

“We’re in a strong position.”

Chris added: “The region has fantastic farmers, who are looking to do right by the land.

“And that is a real selling point.”

This article is an abridged version of the full roundtable discussion, which you can read by visiting www. netimesmagazine.co.uk

“The sustainable farming incentives are a creeping challenge for tenant farmers. I know one who, when his tenancies were renewed, lost 900 acres of active farm because the landowner took the land back to put into Government schemes and receive subsidies” –Charlotte PattersonRyan, Muckle LLP agriculture, estates and private client team partner

Northern Accelerator

Northern Accelerator is funded by Research England’s Connecting Capability Fund and the InTUNE partnership. The InTUNE partnership is funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund through Durham County Council and the North of Tyne Combined Authority, now administered by the North East Combined Authority.

For more information, visit the website at the top of this article.

Delivering tomorrow's inventions today

The world would be nothing without innovation. And integral to ensuring the invention wheel continues to turn is Northern Accelerator. Central to the region’s status as an academic cradle of spin-out ventures, the flagship programme harnesses the knowledge and expertise of the area’s universities to catalyse the companies of tomorrow. Here, Steven Hugill speaks to Lizzie Withington, Chelsea Brain and Michael Bath, from Newcastle, Northumbria and Durham universities, respectively, to learn more about Northern Accelerator’s unique support.

www.northernaccelerator.org

LinkedIn: Northern Accelerator

Business and life. Life and business.

Opposite yet identical, different yet founded and furthered by the same cycle – conception; nourishment for growth; growth for propagation; propagation for generational change.

For business, read life. For life in business, though, read Northern Accelerator.

Harnessing the knowledge and insight of experts across Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and York universities, the flagship programme provides oxygen for innovative ideas to inhale their first commercial breath.

Its Future Founders training programme schools academics on the planks needed to bridge the gap between research and marketplace.

Its Executives into Business platform delivers parentalstyle guidance, by marrying academics with commercial sector bosses holding great scaling experience.

Its funding support draws investment that lays financial foundations from which to build a place in the world.

And it works.

Since its establishment eight years ago, Northern Accelerator has helped create businesses that provide more than 1000 high-value jobs, and is set to deliver a £140 million return on investment to the region’s economy.

Central to its success is a skilled operational delivery group, which functions as an interface between academia and business.

“We understand both worlds and unite them,” says Lizzie Withington, company creation manager at Newcastle University, which previously helped launch

Washington-based motor and powertrain system maker Advanced Electric Machines, and last year celebrated record investment of more than £40 million across its near 40-strong spin-out stable.

She says: “We see inventions at the coal face, and then act almost like midwives to help bring them into the world, applying good and reproducible practice that creates investable spin-outs.

“These companies are working on products and technologies that are going to save and change lives, across areas like cancer treatment and net-zero manufacturing, and it’s a privilege to help them mature.

“A crucial element in doing so is funding; spin-outs need to build teams to deliver their ambitions and, through Northern Accelerator, we’re spotlighting the region – and the mass of activity therein – to investors.

“We’ve created a well-trodden path for spin-outs to flourish.”

That trail is no better highlighted than at Northumbria University, where Northern Accelerator has catalysed a step-change in commercialisation.

Headlined by PulmoBioMed, the Newcastle-based company behind a lung test to boost asthma diagnosis, the institution’s spin-out suite is now growing at speed.

“We had no spin-out activity before Northern Accelerator,” says Chelsea Brain, the university’s IP and commercialisation manager.

She adds: “However, the programme has changed that profoundly.

“Our invention disclosure rate now stands at more than 50 a year, we’re about to complete our next spinout and we have more in the pipeline.

“PulmoBioMed was our first spin-out in 2020; we

used proof of concept money to build prototypes, used the Executives into Business programme and last year helped raise investment for the first time.

“None of what we’ve achieved in recent years would have been possible without Northern Accelerator.”

Such impact, says Michael Bath, senior technology transfer manager at Durham University – whose spin-out portfolio includes Seaham-based greener construction aggregate firm Low Carbon Materials – is helped by Northern Accelerator’s tangibility.

He says: “The mentality of a lot of academics is to look for evidence.

“And through the real stories from across the region’s universities, we’re able to provide that evidence and make the commercialisation process much clearer.

“Initiatives like Future Founders build on that by creating supportive communities for academics to discuss ideas with peers from across the spin-out spectrum, as do fast-start grants.

“The expense of launching a business had previously deterred some academics.

“But by providing them with a £10,000 grant, to

Pictured,

are Lizzie Withington, Newcastle University company creation manager; Michael Bath, Durham University senior technology transfer manager; and Chelsea Brain, Northumbria University IP and commercialisation manager

spend on things like legal and accountancy costs, those concerns are eased.”

And equally important, say Michael and Chelsea, is the collaborative spirit embedded within Northern Accelerator, which lays the groundwork for entities to not just develop out of the region’s universities but stay rooted to the area long after they’ve outgrown their laboratory benches.

Michael says: “There’s quite a poignant Apache saying that wisdom sits in places, and Northern Accelerator does that for the North East.

“We’ve built a base of experiences, learnings and stories, which we’re able to share collectively with academics under the Northern Accelerator umbrella, and therefore help a lot more spin-out journeys.”

Chelsea adds: “We have a powerful cluster of universities, which has an abundance of commercialisation opportunities and potential to create much high-value employment.

“And through Northern Accelerator, we’re helping as many as possible realise those ambitions across the region.”

above, from left to right,

Championing armed forces integration

Making the transition from military roles to civilian careers can often prove challenging. However, thanks to their vast range of unique expertise and disciplined work ethic, there are countless jobs veterans can thrive in as they seek to reintegrate into society. Here, Armed Forces Employer Recognition Scheme Gold Covenant holder Esh Group reveals how it is supporting the forces, ex-military personnel and the wider construction industry through various reintegration schemes.

www.eshgroup.co.uk

LinkedIn: Esh Group

“As a Gold Covenant holder, Esh is committed to setting an example for our industry, not only in supporting ex-services personnel but in helping our industry thrive too,” says HR director Chris Watson.

She adds: “We’re undergoing a skills shortage in construction, and by working with the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP), we support people leaving military positions to pair them up with employment opportunities in areas they have experience or interest.”

In 2023, Esh launched a ‘Soldiers to Site’ transitioning programme with CTP, which sees service leavers encounter live construction sites or office-based roles for up to five days, to gauge the right career path opportunities.

It also offers trade/role specific training for an additional five days, for participants to experience their current military trade in a civilian environment.

Through the Soldiers to Site programme, Esh’s social

Esh GroupFor more information about Esh Group, its armed forces support and the help it provides veterans seeking civilian careers, visit the website at the top of this article.

value team sits with service leavers to understand their career interests, looks at their CVs and puts them in touch with as many employers as possible through LinkedIn, as well as with recruitment specialists Corepeople.

Chris says: “The programme is built around providing service leavers with access to positive destinations, whether that is working directly with Esh Group or through its supply chain, other construction firms or even another sector, utilising skills and qualifications gained on the programme.”

Among Esh’s ranks are employees from a range of military backgrounds.

Pictured, below, Chris Watson, Esh

Group HR director

As a Royal Marines Reserve recruit, Simon Schofield works as a technical manager for Esh’s affordable housing division.

A recruit troop training instructor, he attends regular sessions to train the next generation of reserves, and says it wouldn’t be possible without the company’s support for military personnel.

He adds: “Esh’s commitment to the Armed Forces Gold Covenant has enabled me to fulfil my reservist duties without a financial hit or loss of holiday, thanks to the ten days of paid additional leave reservists receive as part of their employment package.

“As a result, in October, I was able to conduct a two-week course at Commando Training Centre Royal Marines, fulfilling the role of troop senior for our newest batch of recruits on their phase one course.”

Esh proactively supports local veteran charities through volunteering time and fundraising efforts.

In particular, the firm works in partnership with veterans’ charity Launchpad on a number of initiatives, which include funding the creation of a sensory garden

at the charity’s County Durham house, sponsoring the Combatting Veterans’ Homelessness Dinner, delivering employability sessions and arranging volunteer hikes for veterans.

In March, several Esh employees undertook an Army Business Challenge Day, at Albemarle Barracks, in Newcastle, to enhance their mental resilience and problem-solving, team-building and leadership skills, while learning about opportunities in the Army Reserves.

Partnering with staff from Nexus, Esh’s team was victorious on the day.

Afterwards, two of the five attending signed up as reserves.

Curtis Layfield, a trainee quantity surveyor, says: “I used the Army Business Challenge as a way to learn new skills and test myself in a new environment.

“It taught me about the possibilities as a reservist, which was extremely insightful.

“I decided to sign up as a reserve as it allows me to enhance various skills like communication and discipline, and I’m thankful Esh has supported my decision and personal development through its commitment to the Armed Forces.”

The Bowburn-headquartered firm recently supported Military vs Cancer’s second annual armed forces rugby event at Kingston Park, where, just ahead of Armed Forces Week, men’s and women’s military

rugby teams took on select XV North of England sides.

Contributing communications, design and event organisation support for the day, Esh helped raise vital funds for the charity, which brings together all three military services, businesses and people in industry to help support those who are battling with cancer, aiming to inspire people to live their lives to the fullest.

Chris adds: “We strive, across the company, to raise awareness around the importance of supporting reserves and ex-service personnel.

“We take a varied approach to fulfilling our commitments as a Gold Covenant holder, through training initiatives, charities and awards sponsorships, and would encourage more businesses to explore the opportunities it brings.”

above, Steve Marshall, Esh Construction project manager, right, presents the player of the match award to UK Armed Forces’ Will Rigelsford at the recent Military vs Cancer Armed Forces event at Kingston Park

below, Esh Group's victorious Army Business Challenge team

Pictured,

Pictured,

Jerry Hopkinson

Out of Office

In the second instalment of a new series exploring businesspeople’s lives beyond the workplace, Steven Hugill speaks to Jerry Hopkinson, executive chair at Teesport operator PD Ports, about his passion for endurance sports, which will this year see him compete across Europe in gruelling Ironman events.

4Away from your role as PD Ports’ executive chair, you compete in Ironman triathlon events across Europe. Where did your passion for such a hobby begin?

I was a very keen surfer and, at my age, it is really important to keep fit to surf, so I did quite a lot of mobility and strength training, and running for cardiovascular endurance. My work meant I couldn’t surf during the week, so I was limited to weekends and then only for half of the year, when conditions were right.

A friend suggested I try a triathlon, as I was already a decent runner and swimmer.

I wasn’t that struck with the idea, but I then read a book called Finding Ultra, by Rich Roll, about his journey to complete an Ultraman, a three-day event comprising a ten-kilometre swim and a 145-kilometre bike on day one, a 276-kilometre bike on day two and a double marathon – 84 kilometres – on day three.

As a stepping stone, I decided to have a go at Ironman.

An Ironman is a 3.9-kilometre swim, a 180-kilometre bike ride and a 42-kilometre run, which felt like a breeze compared to the Ultra.

Ironman competitions make for incredibly gruelling challenges. How do you prepare for an event and what does a typical training day look like? I prepare by making myself train, frequently when I don’t want to.

So, this morning I rolled out of bed at 5am to swim for an hour.

I don’t actually want to get up at that time, there is a full working day ahead, but I know to face down that reluctance is a little triumph that strengthens not only my body, but also my mind.

A typical week is probably an hour each morning or evening and four hours or more over the weekend, doing a mix of strength and flexibility work; swimming, biking and running, with a bit of meditation thrown in too.

Time management is a real priority, so as not to impact on my commitments to family and work.

As well as the physical exertion, how do you combat the mental challenges of Ironman events?

I read that the challenge of Ironman can “open up

doors to rooms in your mind you would rather leave shut”, and I can tell you that it does.

I can equally tell you there is nothing to be afraid of in those rooms.

It is all about ignoring the monkey chatter in your mind that says, ‘it is raining and cold, you don’t need to go out and run this evening – there is always tomorrow’ or, ‘just walk for a kilometre – you still have 30 kilometres to run and your legs are tired’.

It is a matter of enforcing your will over your natural inclination to give way.

What has been your most memorable achievement in the sport to date? And what are your future aspirations?

In my last year of racing I qualified for the Ironman World Championships and finished, as an age grouper, ranked number three in the UK and 50 in the world.

My oldest daughter Laura (we have four girls) sadly died last year and it was, for her, a huge and shared achievement. I know she boasted to all her friends that her daddy was an Ironman champion.

This year, I am racing three Ironman events, in Spain, Norway and Portugal, with a little photo of Laura stuck to the tribar brace on my bike.

I know that Laura’s voice will be added to mine out there on the course as we jointly tell those monkeys in the mind to clear off.

Does your Ironman training bring any benefits to your professional life? Have you been able to integrate any learnings into your role at PD Ports?

An unequivocal yes.

It has taught me a lot beyond the obvious resilience, stoicism and determination.

It has taught me to focus and to cut out the monkey chatter and to believe in myself and my capacity to endure.

It’s reinforced in me the conviction that there are no genuine hacks or shortcuts because, ultimately, to get to wherever you want to go, you have to do the work.

But above all else, alongside my fellow athletes, who I’m privileged to train and race with, it has reminded me of the innate positivity, courage, dignity and grace of the human spirit, and for that insight I’m incredibly grateful.

Scaleup North East

Scaleup North East provides bespoke support to ambitious business owners looking to drive growth, profitability and wealth.

Encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs

The rollercoaster journey of an entrepreneur was highlighted during a recent event hosted by North East Times and business support organisation RTC North, wherein three company founders provided insight and support to help peers’ ventures thrive.

www.scaleupnortheast.co.uk

scaleup@rtcnorth.co.uk

Trust your instinct; don’t always say yes; and remember to celebrate your achievements!

Those were just three of many take aways from an emotional entrepreneurial panel discussion hosted by North East Times and business support organisation RTC North.

Held at Newcastle’s Pattern Shop, where Robert Stephenson crafted steam locomotives in the 1800s for global export, the event delved into founders’ respective psyches, using their motivations and methods as a catalyst to turn today’s nascent businesses into tomorrow’s rapidly-expanding organisations.

Titled From Start Up to Success, it featured Charlotte Staerck, founder of Burnopfield-based sustainability pioneer The Handbag Clinic, who urged audience members to trust their gut instinct.

Charlotte, whose business repairs, buys and sells designer handbags to ensure their long-term use, also spoke about the importance of being selective – urging fellow entrepreneurs not to say yes to every project or client request – and understand when to take a step

back and restrategise for future growth.

The event, compered by Michael Jackson – voted the UK’s best motivational speaker for 2023/2024 –also featured Phil Groom, founder of SwimNE and Paddlepod, which has helped thousands of children and adults flourish in the water.

Phil spoke about overcoming imposter syndrome, gave an insight into the challenges around scaling a business – highlighting his experiences of building Paddlepod bases in Killingworth, Shiremoor and Whitley Bay to overcome community pool closures –and spoke of seeing failure as a milestone on the road to success.

Kim Cattin, chief executive of Durham-based SB1 Group, which provides cosmetic industry firms with private label, marketing and stock support, agreed with Charlotte and Phil, urging audience members to believe in their ideas and themselves.

She additionally spoke about riding market challenges, highlighting her response to multinational brands’ imitation of her pioneering WBCo Soap Brows product, which helps shape and style eyebrows, and has been used by make-up artists on celebrities including singer Beyonce.

The event also featured a resilience and mindset session by Ruth Denwood, a business support specialist at RTC North, who spotlighted the importance of the Four Cs – control, commitment, challenge and confidence – in helping entrepreneurs ‘bounce forwards’.

Part of the Scaleup North East programme, From Start Up to Success was open to firms in Northumberland, North and South Tyneside, Newcastle and Gateshead working across areas including digital and technology, health and life science, green growth, creative industries and advanced manufacturing.

This project is part-funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund through the North of Tyne Combined Authority and is now administered by the North East Combined Authority. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government's Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business and people and skills.

Photography by Matt Taylor

Pictured, left, Michael Jackson addresses audience members

Middle, right, speakers Charlotte Staerck, Phil Groom and Kim Cattin

www.ncl.ac.uk/business

LinkedIn: Newcastle University Business School

www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk www.londonstockexchange.com www.scaleup-britain.co.uk

Photography by Jamie Haslam

Dame Julia Hoggett, London Stock Exchange chief executive

Newcastle University Business School

For more information about Newcastle University Business School, its courses, collaboration and research, visit the website on the opposite page.

Newcastle University Business School recently hosted the ScaleUp Britain Roadshow, which featured Irene Graham, ScaleUp Institute chief executive; Dame Julia Hoggett, London Stock Exchange chief executive; and Bod Buckby, the Stock Exchange’s head of UK primary markets (north). The roadshow highlighted plans to unlock institutional capital in the UK, build more flexible capital markets and support highgrowth businesses through their scaling journeys, wherever they are in the country, writes Colin Young.

4Newcastle University Business School was delighted to welcome the ScaleUp Britain Roadshow at the conclusion of a whistle-stop, two-day North East tour, during which Irene Graham, Dame Julia Hoggett and Bod Buckby barely had time to pause for breath.

The trip began at the Port of Tyne summit, held at the National Maritime Innovation Hub, where Innovate UK joined investors, scaling businesses and research teams in sessions, showcases and networking that emphasised the green economy.

It then travelled to Sedgefield’s Hardwick Hall Hotel, where Dame Julia, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, and Irene, chief executive of the ScaleUp Institute, addressed the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s Fortune Favours the Brave spring conference, which was attended by more than 200 North East entrepreneurs.

The roadshow made its final stop at Newcastle University Business School.

Here, guests heard from Newcastle University vice-chancellor and president, Professor Chris Day, who revealed that, over the last five years, the estimated turnover of the university’s 37 active spin-out companies has risen from £4.7 million to £9.8 million, with the firms now

employing more than 300 people.

Chris also highlighted the success of Newcastle graduate Phil Beahon, who set up sportswear brand Castore with his brother Tom in 2015.

Castore has now raised more than £150 million, and this success story provided a great jumping off point for a conversation between Irene and Dame Julia that outlined exciting new initiatives to help meet the needs of scaling businesses in the region.

Throughout the roadshow, two names stood out: PISCES, a new market that is set to launch this year with a bespoke regulatory framework that offers private companies periodic access to public market liquidity infrastructure while remaining private; and Floww, a global end-to-end private markets platform designed to streamline fundraising and investing for scaling businesses.

Before the event, Irene had time to reflect on two fulfilling days in the North East and, as she took in the view of St James’ Park across the road and the Tyneside skyline, she could also look back on almost a decade where the ScaleUp Institute, working closely with the local ecosystem, has lived up to its name for the entire North East.

Highlighting the “buoyancy and aspiration” of North East entrepreneurs, she says: “Thanks to initiatives that have evolved in the local economy, such as ScaleUp North East and the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s ScaleUp Leaders’ Academy, and the tangible collaboration between public authorities, universities, business schools, hubs and businesses, we can see the growth of the scaleups in the North East, and the aspirations and sectoral diversity and desire to go even further.

“Scaling businesses value peer support, and that comes in these types of activities and the imparting of knowledge about what is in place, and evolving, and how to plan for the future to meet their global aspirations.”

The ScaleUp Institute was founded two years after 2013 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development analysis of its 38 members’ economies.

It showed the UK was third in the world for the number of business startups.

However, taking them to the next phase was a significant issue, with the UK finishing 13th in that analysis.

Nearly ten years on, UK scaleups number 34,000 – an increase of 26 per cent – with those companies contributing more than £1.4 trillion to the nation’s economy.

According to ONS and Companies House data, the North East now has 1545 scaleup and scaling businesses.

These are generating £14.6 billion for the local economy and employing more than 118,000 people.

Furthermore, almost 300 companies are breaking through £10.2 million in turnover, have £5.1 million assets and/or 50-plus employees, are creating 44,400 jobs, £6.7 billion turnover and £1.4 billion total investment.

A recent ScaleUp Institute survey showed companies scaling across all sectors in the region, with wholesale and retail leading the way, followed by health, professional science and technology, accommodation and food.

Manufacturing and industrial sectors make up a significant proportion of the visible scaleups, with emerging companies operating in the green economy.

Innovate UK has awarded 56 grants, worth £17.3 million supporting businesses' scaleup journeys, and 18 of these entities have raised a total equity investment of £192.3 million – more than 11 times the amount of their grant funding, supported by wrap-around support through their tailored growth programme.

Irene says: “When we started, we observed those countries doing better than us at growth and made sure there was an understanding of what they did to drive scaleups forward, as well as making sure the UK – everywhere – across the public, private and education ecosystems, understood the value of the UK scaleup economy and their local scaling businesses.

“The SME economy is absolutely critical to the UK; 5.5 million businesses generate around £2.6 trillion a year and within that, you've got scaleups – businesses growing at 20 per cent or more in turnover, employment or both – and around 34,000 of those today generate more than 55 per cent of that SME economy.”

"The importance of segmentation is vital and SMEs must not be treated as one homogeneous group.

"At every level - nationally, regionally and locally - we've got to have the right startup policies, the right scaleup policies and the right stay ahead policies for our general SMEs.“If we can get our arms round these businesses and help them unlock the barriers to their growth, we have a huge opportunity for the UK economy and the North East.

“Since our set up, we've worked with local areas, such as the North East, because we know we’ve got to drive scaleup growth at local ecosystem level – which we learned from observing other countries.

“The ecosystem is thriving in the North East, it has buoyed the trend compared to some areas in its growth, and there’s opportunity to go even further.

“The way the ecosystem is working, and the tangible ambition present, means there are very good ingredients for an even brighter scaleup future.”

Fiona Whitehurst, associate dean engagement and place at Newcastle University Business School, is someone who has worked closely with the ScaleUp Institute from the start, and is a member of its committee.

She says: “The ScaleUp Institute has been vital in bringing together partners in the region, like the universities, Entrepreneurs’ Forum, RTC North and the now North East Combined Authority, to focus on scaling businesses.

“Universities have a wealth of talent and ideas that can support the regional economy.”

Irene adds: “Universities are a fundamentally important part of the ecosystem, helping get students into scaling businesses and fostering the market, research and development and investor connections.

“They are a convener, an anchor for the entrepreneurial and scaling economy.

“We've been a big champion of collaboration between universities and we're seeing more of that happening across the country – the Northern Accelerator programme in the North East, for example – you can see a stepping up of that collaboration, which is so important for local economies and businesses.

“Some of our scaleups are working with their business schools and universities, and making sure the talent pipeline is coming through.

“Businesses want to see ever more tailored growth support, and we've got great things that have been developed in the North East.

Pictured, above, Irene Graham, ScaleUp Institute chief executive

Pictured, left, Bod Buckby, London Stock Exchange head of UK primary markets (north)

“There have been a lot of developments since our establishment in addressing the finance challenges scaleups face, for example, British Business Bank’s growth solutions, which include funds such as the Regional Angel programme, and the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce.

“We must raise awareness, connect businesses with finance and growth capital, and the people involved in that to break down barriers.”

There are clearly still major challenges for all businesses outside London, and the ScaleUp Institute survey shows North East scaling businesses still feel external funding is London-centric, with six out of ten businesses in the region convinced most funding will go to their counterparts in London and the South East.

Access to debt and equity finance is difficult; 60 per cent would like easier local access to investors and introductions to key players, including regular investor briefings and meet-ups.

But the biggest obstacles to further growth are access to talent, and to UK and international markets.

Finding the right partners to work with at home and abroad, and collaboration and export opportunities, are difficult and complex areas to navigate.

The new Innovate UK Contracts for Innovation should help with some of that collaboration and access, and more can also be done with tailored trade missions for scaleup companies.

Access to talent issues, from senior management to apprentices to board needs, is a key hindrance, and 64 per cent of scaleup businesses in the region cited future talent as a major concern for their development.

Again, this is where universities have a role to play.

For Bod Buckby, the London Stock Exchange’s representative in the north, the visit to the region was an opportunity to make the connections that will help shape businesses’ futures.

He says: “We're here to help direct and signpost companies, connect them with other entrepreneurs who are a step or two further along, so they can share their perspective and what they went through.

“A lot of the time, for entrepreneurs, it feels like London is so remote.

“They don’t think investors are really going to be interested in their business when actually they are.

“But, quite often, there's nobody bringing the two together – that’s really my role.

“The Stock Exchange has been busy helping companies understand and access the markets, and assist much earlier stage growth businesses spinning out of universities that are looking to raise early-stage growth capital to help make their ideas into a viable business.

“That has hugely opened up our relevance, and the types

of conversations we have to help entrepreneurial ideas be made a reality.”

Bod adds: “If you speak to businesses that are growing quickly, they're going through the same challenges in terms of funding, people, talent, locating premises, growing the board and making sure systems and governance keep pace with the scale as it grows.

“It's quite a hard period for a company to go through, and for a founder to take a business through.

“It requires a lot of work, effort and learning many new skills, but it's where a huge amount of value is created for those founders and the economy.

“Through new initiatives like Floww and PISCES, we want to make accessing the right capital easier, giving entrepreneurs more time to focus on growing their business instead.

“It's amazing, when you start scratching the surface, how much innovation and entrepreneurial growth is happening in the North East.

“The North East is going through something of a golden patch, and we have a huge amount of follow-ups from this visit, which is great.”

SCALING COMPANIES ACROSS THE UK MUST BE A PRIORITY

By Dame Julia Hoggett, London Stock Exchange chief executive

While I have spent most of my career in London, I have strong family ties to the North West and North East.

It was one of the reasons I was delighted to join the latest ScaleUp Institute event, as part of its ScaleUp Britain campaign, which celebrated and supported companies across the UK to help them access funding, new markets and talent.

I am often asked why it matters that the UK’s capital markets support our homegrown companies – why not leave it to overseas investors, some say.

The answer is simple.

If every time the UK produces the next great company, that company needs to seek venture capital or list overseas to scale; it is only a matter of time before it goes overseas.

And with it goes the management team, a disproportionate amount of the value created, sometimes even the tax revenue.

But, more importantly, it plucks another great company from our ecosystem, which could help support and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in the UK.

In the North East, Port of Tyne is a perfect illustration of the criticality of network effects.

Keeping those networks grounded in the very communities that created them, and enabling them to scale and succeed on either a local or global stage from here, redounds to more than just the company itself.

That is why having strong UK capital markets matters.

There has been a lot of commentary lately about the need to make our capital markets more competitive, and there are those who frame it as an issue for the ‘City’ or for ‘London’.

But that is far from the truth.

Ensuring the competitiveness of our capital markets is an issue which impacts people up and down this country, and so it is important we get it right.

It is why we formed the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce (CMIT), which I have the privilege of chairing.

Working closely with the Government, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders, we are playing a convening role to improve the competitiveness of the UK’s capital markets and ensure they are best placed to help support investment and growth across the UK.

CMIT’s work is focused on several areas to help entrepreneurs and companies.

This includes supporting the reform of our public market rules to ensure they are working the best way they can to support companies to list in the UK – which we are expecting to happen very soon.

More broadly, we are supporting efforts to streamline the administrative burdens on public companies, improve their relationships with investors, unlock new domestic capital to invest in UK companies, build a much stronger sell-side research ecosystem to support that investment and develop the world’s first crossover market for scaling companies – to enable companies to access public market liquidity while remaining private.

The UK has an enviable position, but it is something we do not recognise enough.

We have remarkable business founders and leaders here in the North East and across the UK, which is why we create more unicorns (companies valued at more than $1 billion) than anywhere in the world outside the US and China.

That is something we must celebrate and fiercely protect.

We also have the third largest pool of pension assets in the world at £3 trillion, world-leading universities and a truly global financial centre.

Better connecting all of these great attributes is how we will grow our economy for generations to come.

And that is exactly what we are working on.

Pictured, below, Fiona Whitehurst, Newcastle University Business School associate dean engagement and place

Recruitment_

High-class delivery for temporary solutions

Jackson Hogg launched JH Industrial more than 18 months ago to meet increasing STEM-based demand across the region. Now, a dedicated team is delivering its renowned high-class services from its offices in Newcastle, Billingham and Leeds. Here, JH Industrial team leader Mathew Johnson tells Colin Young how this new and very different service is supporting the region’s employers and its temporary workforce – and reaching out further to Europe and the US.

www.jacksonhogg.com

mathew.johnson@jacksonhogg.com @JacksonHoggRec

temporary, adj. & n. Lasting for a limited time; existing or valid for a time (only); not permanent; transient; made to supply a passing need.

In the world of recruitment, temporary, as defined here by the Oxford Dictionary, is an essential term and an increasingly necessary path for employers and employees.

Specialist recruitment and outsourced talent services partner Jackson Hogg has been delivering staff for a host of roles for more than a decade, and has rightly earned a sterling reputation across the globe for its recruitment, HR and training support.

And since Richard Hogg founded the company, his team – now numbering more than 100 – has helped businesses find staff for a wide range of roles, from chief executives to chief technology officers and development and research posts.

In September 2022, the company, which is headquartered at Wallsend’s Cobalt Business Exchange and has sister bases in Billingham and Leeds, branched out to create Jackson Hogg Industrial to better serve STEM clients, specialising in temporary and shopfloor recruitment for manufacturing companies.

The aim was to provide high-quality and innovative recruitment support and people services solutions for the growing number of companies aiming to unearth, train and retain new staff – even if that might be on a temporary basis.

Keeping talented staff is one of the key challenges for manufacturing companies, and it will come as no surprise to discover that Jackson Hogg is already making a positive impression with clients, tailoring its personal operations for industry and production.

Mathew Johnson, who is team leader – industrial,

Jackson Hogg -

To find out more about Jackson Hogg Industrial, and how it could help your business, contact Mathew on 07897 932901 or via his email address at the top of this article.

To learn more about Jackson Hogg’s wider suite of recruitment, HR and research programmes, call 0191 580 0495.

joined Jackson Hogg a little more than a year ago, and has been overseeing the expansion into the industrial world, seeking out employers and employees from the more traditional blue-collar environs.

And while it may have been a venture into the unknown initially, Jackson Hogg has more than found its feet.

Mathew says: “We’re working with countless manufacturers, and there’s no doubt there is increasing

demand for temporary workers, whether that’s down to the cost of living affecting business, or whether they’re looking to cut costs or reduce when they need to produce.

He says: “It might be the type of manufacturing that is scalable, so they can bring in staff when they need them and have that flexibility and say, ‘we've got a downturn in business, we don't need 30 or 40 people on the shopfloor’.

“We'll register and screen candidates, process payroll and at the end date, we liaise with the candidates and look for alternative roles.

“And for the employee, it gives people a bit of luxury with flexible work to demand a higher fee, take a contract, work for six months and take a break, especially in the more skilled blue collar roles such as platers, welders or fabricators.

“For us, it’s more about supporting in the long term, whether they’re start-ups or established businesses, and building a relationship and partnership.

“We want to partner with the right businesses, and do things ethically and morally for both candidate and client.”

One example of that is Gardner Aerospace, in Consett, County Durham, which makes components for Boeing.

It approached Jackson Hogg when it directed contracts into the North East from its Derby plant.

Mathew and consultant James Dexter toured the factory –one of 13 sites across the world – and also spent valuable time researching Consett and its surrounding area.

He says: “It’s a bit of a trial period for them, but we've got 16 employees in there at the moment, and it works because we have that relationship.

“They redirected one element of production from Derby to Consett and asked us to assist in fulfilling this demand.

“Initially, that came with a requirement of eight new staff members, which has since doubled in size.

“It’s an ongoing partnership, with open dialogue from both Gardner and Jackson Hogg, and that’s when these partnerships work at their best.

“It's about meeting clients, engaging with them with confidence and establishing a clearly defined way of working together.”

Recruitment is one of the biggest challenges manufacturing companies are facing.

The North East may have been built on shipyards and coalmines, but back then dock managers and pit bosses didn’t have to compete with an Amazon warehouse and local supermarkets’ superior wages and working conditions.

The influx of new investment on Teesside – and with it new jobs – is already keeping Mathew and James busy, with demand expected to soar over the coming years in the area as Teesworks and other projects gain momentum.

As companies aim to expand and stay relevant, and the

new-look Teesside takes shape, the Jackson Hogg team –which stretches across eight European countries, plus the US and Canada – will be hands-on to find the people to build and maintain it.

Mathew says: “Sometimes it might be a difficult conversation with a client or candidate, to highlight the pitfalls in their processes, and it’s important to be objective in relaying that feedback and providing a solution to increase talent attraction.

“Doing the right thing is about being as honest as you can be with a client.

“We're keen on building and giving people an idea of what the market’s actually like, and being really consultative and honest in our approach.”

He adds: “We provided salary benchmarking for a company in Newton Aycliffe, for example, which needed that resource and a bird’s eye view of the local job market.

“We were able to map out its competitors in terms of attracting talent, and what the market looked like in terms of salary, benefits, shift allowances and shifts.

“That led to an internal review and increase for current staff and future staff, ultimately reducing attrition and increasing attraction of talent.”

North East space conference highlights future success

The region’s prowess in helping shape the future of the UK space industry was spotlighted at a recent highprofile event, which attracted business organisations, companies and universities at the forefront of next generation change.

www.spacenortheastengland.com

LinkedIn: Space North East England

The North East’s important role in the future of the UK space industry was highlighted at a recent conference in the region.

More than 200 people from across the globe gathered for the North East Space Conference, which showcased the growth in the sector and highlighted the exciting work already taking place in the region and beyond.

It was the tenth year the conference – organised by Space North East England – had been held in the region, with international experts, academics and those at the forefront of driving the space agenda all taking part.

Topics discussed included the changing opportunities for the sector in the region, as well as a look at what the growth of the space industry means to local universities.

The conference – sponsored by Lockheed Martin, North East Technology Park (NETPark), Newcastle University, Northumbria University and Orbex – also highlighted the work being done on creating an ecosystem for outer space and outlined the changing business opportunities.

Among those taking part were David Parker, of the

Space North East England

Space North East England is committed to unlocking market opportunities.

A pivotal player in the satellite technology sector, the cluster’s objective is to assist businesses in leveraging satellite data, technology and applications to gain a competitive edge in the global market. Key partners include Business Durham, Durham University, Newcastle University, Northumbria University, Invest North East England, University of Sunderland and Teesside University.

European Space Agency’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, and John Bone, chair of the North East Space Leadership Group.

John says: “The conference clearly showed the significant progress and collaborative efforts within the UK space industry.

“The North East is playing an essential role in this development.

“The insights and innovations shared highlight our region's contribution to the national space agenda.

“With the support of our partners and the expertise from academia and industry, we are building a promising future for the space sector in the North East."

Representatives from a range of companies involved in the industry, including Lockhead Martin, Orbit Fab, Orbex, Jacobs and 3S Northumbria, were also involved in a number of presentations and panel discussions.

Nik Smith, Lockheed Martin Space’s regional director, says the company was delighted to have taken part in the conference.

He adds: “It was an opportunity for us to show our ongoing commitment to the UK space industry, and to broaden that industry across the UK, in particular in the North East.

“As part of that commitment, we have partnered with Northumbria University and the UK Space Agency, and have invested £15 million to help build the North East Space Skills and Technology Centre, a £50 million project.

“Working together, the plan is to create a hub for space technology, provide a range of opportunities and the chance to learn relevant skills to an area of the UK where it will have a significant and positive economic impact.”

Among the subjects discussed on the day were space and sustainability, the changing business opportunities

in the space sector and the North East, and the role universities in the region will play in the growth of the space industry.

Professor Clive Roberts, Durham University executive dean (science), says: “Supporting the North East space sector is essential for regional growth and innovation.

“Collaboration is at the heart of our space research, and we work with local, national and international businesses, government organisations and the third sector to position them at the forefront of innovation through joint research, consultancy, skills development and access to our cutting-edge equipment and facilities.

“By linking our world-leading research, impactful partnerships and industry-relevant training, we’re focusing on a holistic understanding of space and its broader societal, ethical and environmental impacts to ensure a sustainable future in space.”

Pictured, from left to right, are John Bone, North East Space Leadership Group chair; Elaine Scott, Business Durham cluster manager; Nik Smith, Lockheed Martin Space regional director; and Professor Clive Roberts, Durham University executive dean (science)

Catalysing tomorrow’s ventures today

To succeed in business requires many things, not least a strong financial base. Providing many firms with such is Northstar Ventures, whose dedicated funds help companies fulfil their potential and create highvalue jobs in the region and returns for investors. Here, Alasdair Greig and Tom O’Neill, director and investment manager at the Newcastle-based organisation, respectively, outline the value of its support, and how it is building on its 20-year success story with a new endeavour.

www.northstarventures.co.uk

LinkedIn: Northstar Ventures UK

Growing a business is a journey that involves many challenges.

Whether fresh from the laboratory bench or an existing marketplace operator, to expand requires safe navigation of uncharted terrain.

Those that succeed steer through with resilience, skill and no little innovation.

Equally essential to their direction is the support of a partner that not only provides an extra hand on the wheel but financial fuel for their passage and guidance to avoid bumps and bends in the road.

A partner like Northstar Ventures.

The Newcastle-based venture capital firm is a prosperity driver, with its £100 million-plus investments into regional start-ups, spin-outs and more established businesses – across areas such as clean technology and healthy ageing – having helped catalyse great job and wealth creation over the last two decades.

“We help early-stage businesses grow, providing support that increases their teams, making introductions to investors and networks, and offering guidance on

Northstar VenturesNorthstar Ventures is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information about its different funds and how they could help your business’ growth, visit the website at the top of this article.

many other day-to-day issues,” says director Alasdair Greig.

He adds: “We look for capable and competent management teams with complementary skills we think are capable of scaling a business.

“We work very closely with our region’s renowned universities and invest heavily in their spin-outs, with around 15 presently in our portfolio.

“We also work with partners, such as Innovate UK and Creative UK, to provide specific grant and equity-based support for our businesses.

“Our aim is to help create jobs, with many of our businesses employing highly-skilled and capable technology and commercial teams and other specialists.

Pictured,

below,

Alasdair Greig, Northstar Ventures director

“We have a particular focus on clean technology and healthy ageing, areas where the region has competitive advantage and will drive societal impact in future years through operations like Blyth’s ORE Catapult facility and Newcastle’s National Innovation Centre for Ageing.”

Two of Northstar’s current active funds are the North East Innovation Fund and the North East Social Investment Fund.

The North East Innovation Fund invests up to £500,000 in innovative early-stage businesses with bold ideas that can scale rapidly.

The North East Social Investment Fund offers loanbased financing from £100,000 to £1 million to charities, community interest companies and social enterprises that deliver on social impact.

And the outcomes are plentiful.

From Washington-based Newcastle University spin-out electric motor and powertrain system maker Advanced Electric Machines – which last year raised £23 million of funding in a round supported by Northstar Ventures – to Seaham-based Durham University spin-out

carbon-negative aggregate firm – and Earthshot Prize finalist – Low Carbon Materials, Northstar Ventures is a recognised and trusted success conduit.

Just ask Houghton-le-Spring construction sector management software firm Clixifix.

Following two rounds of investment across four years

“We look for capable and competent management teams with complementary skills we think are capable of scaling a business.

“We work very closely with our region’s renowned universities and invest heavily in their spinouts, with around 15 presently in our portfolio”

from Northstar’s funds, the company was recently bought by Norway’s Smartcraft ASA.

That it has chosen Clixifix as its headquarters outside of its Nordic base says much about the company and the region.

James Farrell, chief executive of Clixifix, says: “Northstar Ventures’ early-stage investments were crucial in enabling us to scale services and platform capabilities; it was also a constant source of practical advice and fantastic introductions to people in its network.”

Tom O’Neill, Northstar Ventures’ investment manager, adds: “Smartcraft intends to use Clixifix as its UK headquarters, with plans in place for further investment in product development and its team.

“Smartcraft represents a great opportunity, and a good match, for Clixifix.”

Northstar Ventures’ influence, though, is set to grow even further, through its first-ever enterprise

investment fund.

Known as the Northstar EIS Growth Fund, it offers high net worth investors the opportunity to back businesses across the clean technology and healthy ageing spheres, while also benefiting from generous tax allowances and supporting the next generation of promising early-stage North East businesses.

Alasdair adds: “The EIS Growth Fund provides the scale-up capital needed by the very best companies in our region to help them grow to achieve their potential, while also delivering transformative solutions that address some of the biggest challenges society is facing.

“Our first EIS fund will invest into portfolio companies we know well, but we expect, in future EIS and SEIS funds, to consider new investments too.”

Pictured, above, Tom O'Neill, Northstar Ventures investment manager

Evangeline Atkinson and Laura Mills

Five minutes with…

Evangeline Atkinson and Laura Mills are cofounders of Newcastlebased online credit

broker and credit information service provider Noggin HQ. Here, they tell Steven Hugill the personal reasons behind the company’s inception, its commitment to helping millions of adults climb the social mobility ladder and the impact of a recent £710,000 funding boost.

4Noggin HQ is a business with a real social conscience. Tell us a little about its founding and why you felt so impelled to launch the venture. Laura and I were both rejected for a mobile phone contract.

It turned out neither of us had a credit score, despite us having been working, renting and paying bills for many years. The lack of transparency and control we had over the situation stuck with us. And when we realised this ‘credit invisible’ problem was affecting an estimated 5.8 million adults in the UK, including a disproportionate number of young people, we felt impelled to work on a solution.

As you say, a number of groups within society are facing significant financial pressures, which are augmented by a poor or non-existent credit score. Just how significant an impact is such a barrier having on people’s lives? For millions in the UK, their credit score (or lack of one) prevents them from borrowing money when they need it. In fact, it’s been estimated that one in three UK adults would now have difficulty borrowing money from mainstream lenders.

Borrowing money can be a key driver of upward social mobility; the ability to finance a car, to access employment and education or to buy a home. Credit is also often used as a vital lifeline – it has been estimated that 16 million UK adults would need to borrow money in order to

afford an unexpected payment of £300 in the next 12 months.

For those locked out of mainstream lenders, higher cost alternatives are sometimes their only option, which only serves to compound the problem.

Research by CreditKarma, in 2023, found a poor credit score can cost an individual £270,000 more in interest repayments over their lifetime, which highlights the barrier this is imposing on people’s lives.

The business recently secured £710,000 pre-seed funding, which is being used to accelerate the launch of a price comparison platform. What will that do, and how will it benefit users?

Today, our price comparison platform enables people to compare and purchase mobile phone contracts, phones and SIMs from leading UK providers, with fair and transparent credit terms. We provide clarity on where credit checks are being run, and routes for those without a traditional credit score. Given the problem we’d both faced, mobile phones felt like the right place to start.

The next phase is to introduce more certainty to the process by enabling users to share extra data that proves their creditworthiness, in the absence of having a traditional credit score. This is a key step in our mission to improve access for this excluded group, disproportionately made up of young people, recent immigrants and renters.

You founded Noggin HQ in London but chose to return to your native North East to roll out its development. Why did you do that?

Our primary driver was that we wanted to create jobs in the North East.

Both being born and raised in Newcastle, we left to access jobs in London. But it always felt right to us to build Noggin here. Newcastle also afforded us greater freedom and a strong talent pool within the credit risk space. The name Noggin took its inspiration from ‘use your Noggin’, a phrase we often heard growing up.

You are childhood friends. How has that dynamic helped Noggin HQ’s nurturing?

We’ve been friends since our days at nursery school together in Sandyford. The influence of a 25-plus

The real driving force has been our shared vision for the impact we can deliver and the trust we have in one another.

Despite improvements to add greater diversity to the tech sector, the landscape nevertheless remains a male-dominated domain. How have you found building a business in such an environment?

It is clear there remains more to be done to ensure women have equitable access to capital.

We’d be lying if we said we hadn’t experienced some truly awful things while raising money.

That being said, the handful of bad experiences have been more than offset by countless wonderful ones. It’s also certainly not lost on us that as two women in this space, we’re often the underdog.

But we’ve learnt that being the underdog can be incredibly powerful.

year friendship when building Noggin HQ has been huge.

North East Times Magazine x Scaleup North East

MAKING A SPLASH

When Phil Groom sought to expand his PaddlePod swimming school and leisure hub endeavour, he turned to the Scaleup North East programme, which matches owners’ growth ambitions with the knowledge, expertise and insight of entrepreneurial partners. Here, he tells Steven Hugill about the impact of the RTC North-delivered venture on his business, which, having gone from hiring pools to having a cluster of purpose-built venues, is ready to further

extend its market presence.

www.paddlepod.co.uk

4Sometimes, it’s the moments we’re least expecting that shape our futures.

Just ask Phil Groom.

While delivering swimming lessons to youngsters, a parent approached for a quick chat.

This one, though, would prove seminal.

“I remember it like it was yesterday,” says Phil, who swam competitively in his younger days.

He says: “I’d been teaching at local pools for a number of years and had a full roster of lessons, and then a parent, completely off the cuff, asked if I taught anywhere else across the region.”

The routine query had a catalysing effect, stirring Phil’s ambitions to create a new venture that went far beyond everyday tuition.

The result was SwimNE, which launched in 2006 and has since helped thousands of children and adults flourish in the water.

He says: “I started at Kenton School, in Newcastle, with my sister and a next door neighbour who taught swimming.

“And we grew quickly; we did two days a week and had 200 children,” adds Phil of the business, which is a two-time Swim England swim school of the year.

However, while the appetite was overwhelmingly strong, the means by which to nourish such hunger were becoming harder to source.

With pools’ ageing infrastructure affecting opening times and others forced to permanently close, Phil recognised his vision would only be truly realised with its own sites.

He says: “We switched to Fenham after a couple

PaddlePodFor more information about PaddlePod and its SwimNE and Nemo Swimming programmes, or to enquire about its premium subscription scheme, visit the website at the top of this article or call 0191 281 7678.

of years, due to Kenton pool closing, and more than doubled the number of swimmers there.

“And, as the years progressed, we picked up other pools and worked with other venues.”

“But we also experienced three pool closures and were often never sure if a site would be open week-toweek,” says Phil, who had now complemented Swim NE with Nemo Swimming, which teaches babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and juniors.

To eliminate such uncertainty, Phil leased an-ex forklift truck repair centre, on Camperdown Industrial Estate, near Killingworth, and additionally took on an old Clark’s Bakery unit, on Shiremoor’s Algernon Industrial Estate.

The buildings were transformed into PaddlePodbranded venues in 2021, with Killingworth fitted with a 25-metre pool and Shiremoor – split into two during construction to accommodate a separate gym operator – furnished with a 15-metre pool.

The focus, though, extended beyond the water.

Phil says: “Everyone has their own story of learning in freezing cold pools.

“Ours, though, are always set above 30 degrees, and are the same depth.

“But we also wanted to tackle issues beyond the pool.”

“We knew parking was a big pain point, so we ensured sufficient numbers of spaces,” says Phil of PaddlePod, which runs a third site in Whitley Bay and whose bases welcome more than 4000 swimmers each week.

He adds: “A national swimming survey also suggested one of parents’ biggest worries was accessing a good cup of coffee, so we added cafés with barista-style coffee, cakes and fresh baking to our venues.

“And we addressed another big area of concern, around occupying a child while another was in a lesson, by adding play areas and sensory and activity rooms.

“They have all diversified our offer; we now have hubs for friends to meet and children to play, as well as pools for lessons.”

The multiplicity, though, is set to grow further, with a day care nursery at PaddlePod’s Camperdown site.

Phil says: “We’re partnering with a provider, which will see us deliver lessons to its children.

“It will be another USP for us, and for the nursery too.”

The expansion will be underpinned by knowledge accrued from Phil’s time on the Scaleup North East programme, which delivers support events and connects entrepreneurs with dedicated partners – who have decades of business experience – to help map out growth plans.

For Phil, it meant the expert counsel of Tony Brooks,

who grew a two-person electrical engineering firm into a multi-million-pound, blue-chip contract organisation.

He says: “There were times when I felt like I’d hit a roadblock, but Tony was always there, providing pearls of wisdom and, at other times, acting a little like an agony aunt.

“More than anything, though, he taught me diversity was crucial, as was keeping things simple and understanding – and then fully utilising – what we were good at as a business.

“That attitude and support stretches right across the Scaleup North East team; their passion for business is huge, and it leaves you feeling reinvigorated.

“It’s the same with Scaleup’s events programme.

“I suffer from imposter syndrome, but the events allowed me to rub shoulders with like-minded people and see my worries and pains – be they staffing, training, funding or cashflow – were exactly the same as any other business.”

SCALEUP NORTH EAST

Companies should be:

And with such experiences to lean on, Phil says PaddlePod is primed to continue its growth, which, in the process, will extend a proud history of inspiring the next generation.

He says: “I didn’t set out to create the next international swimmer, it was more about creating a platform for people to swim for life.

“From that, we’ve got people that learned with us –who I taught as children – who are now our teachers and lifeguards, and others that have founded their own schools.

“And I take real pride from that closed circle, because it shows we’ve done our job over the last 18 years.”

- Businesses, including start-ups, which are scaling or can demonstrate significant growth potential

- Based in the areas of Northumberland, North and South Tyneside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne or the Gateshead Metropolitan Borough

- Ideally in the following sectors, although others will be considered:

- Digital and technology

- Health and life sciences

- Low carbon and green growth

- Creative industries

- Advanced manufacturing

The following sectors are not eligible for support:

- Agriculture

- Fishery and aquaculture

- Banking

- Insurance

Firms must demonstrate a growth rate of 20 per cent over two previous years, or high growth potential, demonstrating growth of above ten per cent and forecasting future growth of at least ten per cent, with increase in employment.

For more information, visit www.scaleupnortheast. co.uk

The Scaleup North East programme is funded by the Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with the North East Combined Authority acting as lead organisation and RTC North operating as delivery partner. The North East Combined Authority is a partnership of seven local authorities covering County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North and South Tyneside, Northumberland and Sunderland, and is led by mayor Kim McGuinness.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025.

The fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK, investing in communities and place, supporting local business, people and skills.

For more information, visit: www.gov.uk/government/ publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

RTC North

RTC North is a leading provider of business support and innovation services, working with organisations to unlock their potential and achieve sustainable growth. With a wealth of expertise and a commitment to excellence, RTC North empowers businesses to overcome challenges, embrace opportunities and drive success in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Education Partnership North East

For more information about Education Partnership North East and its colleges, its new Ashington campus and its learning portfolio, which includes school leaver, adult and higher education courses, visit the website at the top of this article. Alternatively, call 0300 770 1000.

Ready for the future

A ‘pioneering’ £54 million Northumberland College campus in Ashington has moved a step closer after the venture was granted planning approval. Here, Ellen Thinnesen, chief executive of Education Partnership North East, which includes Northumberland College, tells North East Times Magazine how the development will create immersive industry experiences for learners while providing a huge boost for its former mining town home.

www.educationpartnershipne.ac.uk

@EPNorthEast

A transformative £54 million net-zero college campus is to be built in Ashington after plans were approved by councillors.

Northumberland College’s new campus will be built to a net-zero specification on a 5.7-acre site in Wansbeck Business Park.

It will provide state-of-the-art academic and technical facilities aligned to industry and regional skills priorities.

The campus - due to open in 2026 - will comprise three blocks and provide teaching spaces for a wide range of courses, including advanced manufacturing and engineering, as well as academic subjects.

Plans for the campus came before Northumberland County Council’s strategic planning committee in June, where they were unanimously approved by members.

Ellen Thinnesen, chief executive of Education Partnership North East, which includes Northumberland College, says: “This is a major, transformative investment of £54 million for the

people of Ashington, its surrounding areas, and, more broadly, the county and the North East of England.

“Considering the ambition we have, the current campus at Ashington is not fit for purpose.

“The approval of this application is absolutely crucial and will result in significant benefits to the local community.”

Labour councillor Julie Foster, who represents the Stakeford ward, says: “This has been needed for a long time.

“Even when I went to Northumberland College, a long time ago, it wasn’t the greatest building.

“This looks like a lovely site, and I can see it is going to be of huge benefit for the staff and young people who use it.”

Councillor Guy Renner-Thompson, the council’s cabinet member for education, adds: “The council has worked very closely with the college and the Department for Education to get this investment into Ashington.

“I am really excited about this level of investment coming into Northumberland, and we have to get fully behind it.”

The pioneering campus will be one of a new generation of Government-led educational buildings developed by the Department for Education with advanced concepts, design standards, net-zero and sustainability at the heart of its build and operation.

The hourglass-shaped site includes three buildings incorporating structural designs to enhance sustainability, optimise renewable technologies, meet the challenges of climate change, connect with nature and are designed for health, wellbeing and the environment.

The new college will also house a range of industrystandard facilities.

A dedicated Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering and Construction Skills Centre will be a centre of excellence in electrical, mechanical, robotics and automation, automotive, green transport, construction, housing, retrofit and wider renewable technologies.

A further building will include academic and technical facilities, with curriculum spanning hospital, health, education and childcare, business, tourism, digital and employability.

The campus will also incorporate a centre for young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

There will also be a dedicated centre with catering and dining facilities, a learning and skills centre, an impressive lecture theatre, careers and welfare services, specialist labs, workshops and immersive learning environments.

The campus will be built using biophilic principles, a concept used within the construction sector to increase occupant connectivity to the natural environment.

Ellen adds: “Our new Ashington campus will be an inspirational centre for learning, and will play an

important role in the UK’s net-zero ambitions and the Government’s prioritisation of further education and skills aligned to local, regional and UK economies.

“More specifically, this investment will hugely benefit Ashington.

“Once the college is built, we will relocate thousands of college students and staff from our current campus to our new facilities, significantly increasing footfall into the town – a move that will undoubtedly support local business and wider economic development.”

To reduce its carbon footprint, innovative, sustainable designs and materials, along with modern methods of construction, will see the campus largely built and manufactured off site before being assembled in Ashington.

External spaces will be just as important as the college’s new internal spaces, with the landscape surrounding the buildings incorporating planting strategies - which will act as solar screening - and rain gardens, while pathways will be made of carefully chosen sustainable materials.

Construction company Bowmer + Kirkland has been appointed under the Department for Education’s framework as design and build contractor, with Bond Bryan providing architectural services.

Burning the candle at both ends

Technology means we can now work anywhere at any time, giving people more flexibility than ever and, in theory, helping create a healthy work/life balance. But being better connected can come at a price. Global levels of burnout shot up during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this problem doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. Here, Muckle LLP considers how businesses can help their people combat, and work towards preventing, burnout.

www.muckle-llp.com

@MuckleLLP

What is burnout?

Picture this: you’re feeling exhausted at work, you feel that you lack purpose and achievement, and you can’t help but feel cynical about your work in general.

What you’re experiencing is burnout.

Jason Wainwright, Muckle LLP's managing partner, pictured, right, has seen burnout throughout his career.

He says: “As legal professionals, the nature of our job means we often work intensively, which creates greater potential for burnout.

“But it’s not a problem limited to the legal sector; anyone in any role or industry can suffer from it.”

How can it happen?

Burnout is traditionally associated with overwork, but other factors can include lack of job satisfaction, lack of clear responsibilities or even boredom.

That’s right – boredom can result in burnout too

Muckle LLPTo find out more about Muckle LLP’s supportive culture, visit the website at the top of this article or call 0191 211 7777.

(there’s even a term for it – boreout).

Remote/flexible working also has a part to play.

Calm’s 2024 Voice of the Workplace Report found that 58 per cent of employees said they’re always connected or available for work.

Technology has created an ‘always available’ culture, and people find it much harder to switch off from work, both figuratively and literally.

Certain personality types are also more susceptible to experiencing burnout, a situation Jason understands all too well.

He says: “People who work at law firms are generally very high-achieving and diligent individuals, as well as great perfectionists.

“Although these qualities are beneficial when it comes to delivering outstanding client service, they could contribute to burnout, especially when combined with the demanding nature of our sector.”

What’s the impact?

Although not a health condition itself, burnout is linked to a myriad of serious health conditions: mental (for example, depression and anxiety) and physical (such as cardiovascular diseases).

Burnout also creates serious problems for organisations, as well as individuals.

One employee suffering from burnout can have a knock-on effect on a company’s productivity levels, culture and morale, and even staff turnover.

This, in turn, can create greater stress levels and workloads for other colleagues.

If you don’t nip it in the bud, the cycle of burnout can start again.

What can organisations do?

Burnout isn’t something that happens quickly.

It is sustained over a long period of time – weeks, months and sometimes years. That’s why prevention is key.

Jason thinks creating an open company culture, which is focused on wellbeing, should be top of your list.

He says: “All employers should be as supportive and collaborative as possible, which starts with communication.

“Employers need to communicate the importance of a work/ life balance, encouraging their people to prioritise self-care through simple gestures like taking their annual leave, not checking their emails during non-working hours and spending their free time doing things they enjoy.

“Individuals have their own part to play in preventing burnout, but this can only work in tandem with a supportive organisation.

“Employers must empower their people to advocate for themselves and set boundaries with colleagues and clients.

“There is still a stigma around mental health, and people sometimes think that admitting they’re struggling is a sign of weakness, which is far from the truth.

“We need to change that.”

Your organisation might already be doing a lot to prevent burnout unknowingly.

And Jason believes a little can go a long way.

He says: “In addition to annual leave, everyone at Muckle has two extra wellbeing days and two volunteering days a year.

“Both take our people away from work; the ad-hoc wellbeing days help our people rest and recharge when it’s really needed, while the volunteering days enable our people to feel a real sense of purpose and allow them to focus on something else they care about.

“However, without implementing cultural change, these kinds of perks can only temporarily solve the burnout problem without addressing the root causes.

“This brings us back to the importance of a supportive and open organisational culture.”

Duty of care

Although this article focuses on job burnout, it can happen outside the workplace with, for example, students in full-time education.

But regardless of demographic, the symptoms, struggles and repercussions of burnout are the same for us all, and we all have a responsibility to help each other.

Jason Wainwright, Muckle LLP's managing partner

Northumberland Golf Club

To find out more about the club, membership fees, coaching and information regarding visiting parties, visit the website at the top of this article.

Creating one of the finest members clubs

James Thomas is general manager at Northumberland Golf Club. Here, he tells North East Times Magazine about his role, his vision for the historic club’s future and the importance of balancing innovation with tradition.

www.thengc.co.uk

Facebook: Northumberland Golf Club

Pictured, below, James Thomas, Northumberland Golf Club general manager

What brought you to Northumberland Golf Club?

I was approached by a recruiter in December 2022 and, after discussion, he put me forward for the position.

After a rigorous recruitment process, I was successfully appointed in February 2023.

In August 2023, my family and I moved North, so I could further my career in golf club leadership.

What are your long and short-term goals at the club?

Our revised vision, which we set out in November 2023, seeks to bring Northumberland Golf Club to the forefront as one of the finest members clubs in the North of England.

Short term goals are focused on building

foundations across all aspects of the business.

These are crucial to the delivery of the strategy, ensuring each step we take is on a firm footing, and can be built on in years to come.

We are making numerous capital improvements across the club this year.

We are underway with the construction of a new golf reception and enhanced driving range.

We drained nine greens over the last winter and this autumn will see our putting green doubled in size.

We have recently been through a staff restructuring and appointed two PGA professionals and a head chef.

We have launched new packages for corporate golf days and visiting parties, and are most definitely open for business.

How do you believe golf clubs can balance tradition with the need for modernisation and innovation?

Heritage plays a vital role in every golf club.

Northumberland has a rich history of 125 years, which must be preserved and celebrated.

Modernisation can sometimes be at the expense of the experience an original customer base bought into, so one must be cautious when choosing what and how to modernise.

Innovation takes many forms; the golf club proposition has survived for decades and simply needs to be fine-tuned.

Technological improvements are a great starting point, automating processes and making the user experience simpler and, ideally, seamless.

These enhancements can help defray subscription costs over time, improving the overall value for money element of golf club membership.

Reputation is something that cannot, and should not, be compromised.

Innovation can seek to erode a club’s reputation, so approaching with caution and a clear direction of travel is vital, as reputational damage can take years to rebuild.

Innovation should be born from listening to what your customers want - being mindful their desires must chime with your values - and designing/ innovating a proposition that seeks to deliver an experience that meets customers’ expectations.

What events and tournaments do you have coming up at Northumberland Golf Club?

2024 sees the launch of the Northumberland Professional Golf Championship & Pro-Am.

Through the support of our sponsors, we have secured a £10,000 prize fund for the professionals. This is the biggest event on the North East/North West circuit, and has already attracted a very healthy field in its first year.

Pictured, top, players tee off on Northumberland Golf Club's opening hole Left, its clubhouse Below, left, a player undergoes tuition at the club's driving range

Letting the creative energy flow

We walk into Jimmy Turrell’s Ouseburn studio.

There are boxes of magazine clippings and props piled high, song lyrics on the wall and enough design books to start a library. It’s like stepping into Jimmy’s brain, witnessing how he draws inspiration and his ability to find the beauty and potential in almost anything.

“If I spill something, I don’t mind, it feels like part of the process,” he says. Very few manage to blend traditional and digital art techniques quite like Jimmy Turrell.

A graphic artist and video director, his work is a vibrant collision of past and present, his vision stemming from the inserts of a geography textbook to the music of AC/DC. Even after training at the respected Central Saint Martins and collaborating with some of the world's most renowned names, Jimmy remains a true Geordie boy at heart, with his notable primary colour palette taking inspiration from the Byker Wall estate. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to his execution, his innovation comes more from the idea of ‘structured chaos’. Here, Kate Hewison meets Jimmy to discuss his extraordinary career, what his art means to him and his new exhibition at The Baltic, in Gateshead.

Words by Kate Hewison

Photography by Andrew Lowe

4Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in art? As a youngster, was it always a path you were keen to follow?

My inspiration was shaped by my early environment and the influential figures in my life.

Although neither of my parents were traditionally creative, they were very supportive of the arts, and encouraged me to explore my artistic inclinations from a young age.

My dad, a firefighter and carpet fitter, would bring home large rolls of paper left over from carpet installations.

I would sit on these rolls and create huge narrative drawings until I filled up the entire space; that was my first introduction to drawing, painting and mark making.

My parents also loved the works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris, Art Nouveau and Art Deco.

We frequently visited the Glasgow School of Art and The Hill House, which greatly influenced my appreciation for art.

“Inspiration is everywhere, and I make sure to keep my eyes and mind open to it”

The idea of turning this passion into a career was sparked by a book I found in my GCSE art class: The Album Cover Album, by Roger Dean.

This compendium of the best album cover designs introduced me to the works of Hipgnosis, Barney Bubbles, Vaughan Oliver, Peter Saville and other amazing designers.

From that moment, I knew I wanted to design for music.

I also owe a lot to Val Fitzgerald, my art teacher at the time, for introducing me to this book, and for being an amazing teacher in general.

These influences made me realise art wasn't just about creating beautiful images but also about communicating ideas and emotions in a unique and powerful way.

What initially drew you to graphic art and video direction?

I was drawn by the sheer power of visual communication and the endless possibilities it offered for creative expression.

The way visuals could convey a message or evoke a feeling without a single word fascinated me.

Graphic art, with its mix of typography, imagery and colour, felt like a natural extension of my love for drawing and collage.

Video direction happened by accident.

The first video I worked on was for Beck’s single ‘Wow’.

Although I had never directed before, I decided to fake it until I made it.

Jimmy Turrell

This experience revealed the potential of moving images to tell stories and create immersive experiences.

This multi-disciplinary approach allowed me to explore new dimensions of storytelling and engage audiences on a deeper level.

Ultimately, it was my desire to push boundaries and experiment with different forms of media that led me to video direction.

Talk us through your creative process –how does an idea begin, and how do you then bring it to life?

It is a blend of spontaneity and structured experimentation.

It starts with a simple idea, which can come from anywhere – music, street art, a vintage magazine, a paving stone or a fleeting moment in everyday life.

Inspiration is everywhere, and I make sure to keep my eyes and mind open to it.

Once an idea sparks, I begin with exploration and research.

I collect visual references, sketch rough

concepts and experiment with different styles and techniques.

This is a crucial phase, where I allow myself to be messy and free, letting the creative energy flow without overthinking it.

Next, I refine my sketches, experiment with compositions, and work out colour schemes.

Collage is a huge part of my process; I love combining disparate elements to create something new and unexpected.

For video direction, this process extends into motion and narrative.

I work on storyboard scenes, plan visual sequences and collaborate with animators to bring the vision to life.

It’s about finding the perfect synergy between visuals and sound to tell a compelling story.

Throughout the process, I remain open to experimentation and happy accidents. Sometimes, the best ideas come from unexpected mistakes or last-minute changes.

It’s all about staying flexible and letting the creative journey unfold naturally.

By the end, what started as a simple spark of inspiration transforms into a fully realised piece of art.

Are there any challenges you face when blending traditional and digital art forms? If so, how do you overcome them?

Blending traditional and digital art forms does come with its challenges, but these challenges make the process exciting and rewarding.

Traditional art has a tactile, organic quality that can be hard to replicate digitally, while digital art offers precision and versatility that traditional methods might lack.

To overcome these challenges, I embrace the strengths of each medium.

I use traditional techniques like drawing, painting and collage to create the foundational elements of my work.

The digital part is usually subtle, involving slight tweaks to compositions and textures.

Another challenge is maintaining a

cohesive aesthetic throughout the piece.

It’s easy for the traditional and digital elements to feel disjointed if not handled carefully.

To address this, I focus on colour

“Sometimes, the best ideas come from unexpected mistakes or last-minute changes - it’s all about staying flexible and letting the creative journey unfold naturally”

harmony, consistent textures and a unified visual style.

I often scan my handmade work at high resolutions to capture every detail and nuance, ensuring the digital enhancements complement, rather than overpower, the original artwork.

How does your North East heritage influence your art?

Growing up in Newcastle, I was surrounded by a rich tapestry of history, culture and industrial landscapes.

My early years in the Byker Wall estate, with its vibrant primary colours and dynamic geometric architectural shapes, left a lasting mark on my aesthetic.

There’s also a certain raw, unpolished charm to the North East that seeps into my work, whether consciously or subconsciously.

The sense of community and strong work ethic characteristic of the area have also shaped my approach to art.

The people here are resilient and resourceful – qualities I try to reflect in my creative process.

This hands-on, DIY ethos is a source of pride and a constant reminder of where I come from, grounding my work in a sense of place and identity.

Are there any particular pieces of music or events that have had a significant impact on your art?

I particularly love what Warhol did for The Stones and The Velvet Underground in the late 1960s.

The cover of Sticky Fingers, with the actual zipper that revealed white underwear with the Rolling Stones' tongue logo, was a revelation.

It showed me how powerful the combination of sound and visuals could be.

Directing the ‘Sweet Sound of Heaven’ video – featuring Lady Gaga and Stevie Wonder – for The Rolling Stones last year was a dream come true, and felt like a full-circle moment.

I also admire what Barney Bubbles did for Ian Dury and Elvis Costello, especially his artwork for Armed Forces.

The album cover is littered with references to both politics and love, using them as metaphors for each other.

His mix of styles and techniques, and the diversity of subject matter, ranging

from figurative to pop and abstract, is quite startling.

Events also play a crucial role in shaping my art.

Attending Glastonbury Festival for the first time was a sensory overload of music, art and culture.

The energy and creativity on display were mind-blowing, and motivated me to explore more dynamic and immersive forms of art, including video direction and live visuals.

I was later commissioned by The Guardian to illustrate their promotional material for Glastonbury.

The campaign, entitled ‘Flyposter My Life’, was based on the concept of a person fly-postering all their music memories.

In terms of a feel and colour palette, they wanted the campaign to be ‘super pop’.

I also designed the interior and exterior of The Guardian Lounge, which included an exhibition of original framed artworks, fly-postering all the stage panels and creating large 3D letters above the stage.

My design assistant was Marcos Villalba.

You partner with a lot of well-known international brands. Are there any campaigns in your portfolio that especially stand out as memorable pieces of work?

Some of my most memorable projects have been within the fashion world.

Last year, I was commissioned to art direct the after-show visuals for Chanel’s Métiers d'Art show, in Manchester, set in the beautiful empty pool of Victoria Baths.

I’ve also worked on campaigns for Adidas and Uniqlo.

Earlier in my career, I worked on the store magazine for the famous Parisian concept store and gallery Colette, located near the Louvre.

In the music world, I've collaborated extensively with Beck, designing his last

“My early years in the Byker Wall estate, with its vibrant primary colours and dynamic geometric architectural shapes, left a lasting mark on my aesthetic”

two album covers, several lyric videos, tour graphics and stage animations.

I've also created music videos for Elvis and The Chemical Brothers and worked for artists and labels ranging from Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Pharrell Williams, The Prodigy, Wu-Tang Clan, David Holmes, XL Recordings and Heavenly Records.

Recently, I art-directed Kasabian’s new album Happenings, with help from fellow North East artist Josh Aitken. That was a total blast!

I’ve also worked on numerous charity projects for Teenage Cancer Trust, War Child, Red Cross, and the Elton John AIDS Foundation.

Tell us about your current exhibition at the Baltic

My new pop-up show, titled Shifting Surfaces: Parts I, II, & III, brings together a series of works that will transform and reconfigure over six months in three separate stages, using techniques like hand collage, overprinting and painting. The work ranges in subject matter from collages of some of my musical heroes to a combination of language, slogans and found material.

I aim to create an organic shift in perspective in each of the three stages, juxtaposing type and image to reconstruct the meaning of each piece.

The wholesale redaction and occasional destruction of some of these pieces is necessary for the next stage to exist.

I’m currently installing Stage 2, which has a more political edge and uses largerscale paste-ups.

It addresses issues such as the current conflict in the Middle East, the decline of the Conservative Party, the rise of right-wing authoritarian governments in Europe and the US, and the impact of the overturning of Roe v Wade in the southern states of the US.

These themes emerged after lengthy discussions with female friends and family members.

Rachel Pattinson

Closing this edition of North East Times Magazine, Rachel Pattinson, co-director of Women in Tech North East, highlights the organisation’s recent rise to community interest company status, which the freelance digital and innovation consultant says is already catalysing goals of creating a more diverse digital landscape.

4What is Women in Tech North East and what are its aims and objectives?

Women in Tech North East is a regional community, led by directors Kathryn Wharton, Jennifer Wood and I, that aims to promote the participation of women and non-binary people in the technology sector.

We provide a supportive and welcoming network for people from all career stages, and from across the technology sector too.

Our objectives are to produce networking events to help our community make connections, provide an online network and resources to share information and opportunities, and deliver education, skills and career development activities.

We also collaborate with industry partners to create a more inclusive tech ecosystem, and advocate for, and raise awareness of, gender diversity in the technology sector.

We started as an informal network, led by dedicated volunteers, back in 2022.

Since then, our online community has grown to more than 1000 members, and we’ve delivered seven fully-booked community events with amazing partners like Newcastle University, Aspire, Womble Bond Dickinson and Waterstons.

The organisation recently secured community interest company (CIC) status. What does the title mean and how will it aid the endeavour’s growth plans?

We’re really excited to have become a CIC, which is a type of not-for-profit limited company.

CICs exist to support their community, and invest money they make back into benefits for that community – for us, that’s women and non-binary people who are working in, are interested in, are studying and are championing technology in the North East.

References:

It’s a big step forward for us.

Previously, we didn’t have a formal structure or company status.

Becoming a CIC means we’re putting in place business plans and policies to futureproof Women in Tech North East’s work.

And as we’re now a social enterprise, we can also do things that involve money, like fundraising to support our start-up costs (thank you to Newcastle University START UP for becoming our first funder) and partnering with sponsors.

As you’ve alluded, the venture is underpinned by a commitment to helping women, women-identifying individuals and non-binary and gender nonconforming people progress in a tech sector that still carries a male bias. How important is greater diversity to a more successful and prosperous digital landscape?

In 2023, women accounted for only 26 per cent of the people working in the IT profession1 , and statistics for non-binary workers in the digital sector aren’t available yet.

We see even fewer women in leadership, founder and technical fields.

This under-representation means women and gender minorities haven’t yet reached a point of critical mass.

However, gender diversity leads to more innovation, and research shows having diverse leadership teams improves financial performance.2

And with the growth of the technology sector in the North East, women and non-binary people have an important role to play in making our region stand out for developing really innovative digital products and services.

1: Women In Tech survey 2023; www.womenintech.co.uk/women-in-tech-survey-2023/ 2: The mix that matters – innovation through diversity; www.bcg.com/publications/2017/people-organization-leadership-talentinnovation-through-diversity-mix-that-matters

LinkedIn: Women in Tech North East CIC

Picture: Rob Irish