It’s Thriving up North pet!

Study in Northeast

Are You Interested In Studying In The Northeast? Then read on…

NORTH East England has changed – no longer is it reliant on the heavy industries of the 20th century. The region is evolving into a thriving, knowledge-based economy. In line with the growth of this modern economy, the number of graduates entering the North East workforce is on the increase.

With five successful universities and many more high-performing colleges and schools, the North East’s doors are wide open to welcome the post-graduate workforce.

One Northeast Director of Communications, Stacy Hall, said: “It is fantastic that so many students decide to stay in the North East once they have graduated.

“North East England is attracting more people than ever before, with more people moving to the region than away from it, which is hardly surprising when you consider the high-profile regeneration projects we have seen through and the amount of inward investment we currently enjoy.”

The scale and profile of the region’s higher education student population is also changing.

In 2001/02 4,500 graduates entered the North East workforce and 62% were graduates from the region.

The number of North East students leaving the region to study decreased by 9% from 4,915 in 1997/98 to 4,460 in 2002/03. Compared to the other English regions (except London), a higher proportion of NE students choose not to leave the region to study.

There has been an increase of 31% of students from our region staying here once they have achieved their qualifications.

Figures like these show we have successfully stopped the perceived “brain drain” of academics leaving our region to work in the South East. We must now focus our attentions on bringing new people into the region and keeping them here.

One significant factor is that the proportion of new business survivals is higher than it has been for many years. In fact, during 2003 the North East was the most active region outside of London for ‘hi-tech’ business start-ups.

One Northeast Chief Executive, Alan Clarke, said: “The cultural and economic landscape of North East England has changed dramatically in the last few years.

“We are no longer behind the rest of the country when it comes to the regional economies of the UK. Unemployment levels are moving closer to the national average and many of the region’s traditionally poorer hubs are undergoing an economic renaissance on the back of extensive regeneration projects.

“We also have the prospect of Science City and the Northern Design Centre, which will help forge links between cutting-edge private sector companies and the universities, opening up employment opportunities for graduates.”

North East England has also launched a major awareness-raising campaign to tell the world about its innovative businesses and people, its strengths and its distinctiveness. And about how good life has become here as the region has changed and adapted to the future.

Over the next three years around £7 million has been committed by One Northeast to the Regional Image Strategy. A strategy that ultimately aims to further boost the region’s economic development by building the self-confidence of people in the region while attracting investors, skilled individuals and companies.

The £7m is likely to be just the initial phase of the campaign that could last, in various forms, for at least the next five to 10 years. Every individual, business and partner organisation of the Agency in the region will be encouraged to contribute – and will be given the tools to do so.

Stacy added: “We have such a beautiful, vibrant region it is about time we shared it with the rest of the world.

“Not only do we have historic cities that mix the modern with the traditional like Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland, World Heritage sites like Hadrian’s Wall and Durham Cathedral and attractions like Baltic, The Sage Gates head and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, we also have hidden gems like Bede’s World, and the Northumberland coastline.

“We also have three Premier League football clubs, Durham County Cricket Club and one of the best canoeing facilities in the UK at the Tees Barrage in Stockton.

“The North East England Offer is higher than it has ever been. For the first time we are using our assets to their maximum potential and we can guarantee that visitors to the region will be impressed with what we can offer.”

North East England welcomes over half a million overseas visitors each year and in 2004 it saw the greatest number of overseas visitors visit the region (540,000) Set up in April 1999 to help the people of the North East create and sustain jobs, prosperity and a higher quality of life, One Northeast is leading economic development and regeneration in the region.

The remit to the Agency is to use all the resources at its disposal, in both rural and urban communities throughout the North East to promote business efficiency, investment and competitiveness in the region, generate employment and enhance the skills of North East people.

North East England covers an area of 9,000sq.km and has a population of 2.5 million people. Growth in house prices in the region has been exceeding the national average for the last three years.

As a region, it has seen year on year reductions in unemployment levels since the turn of the century. Since 2000, unemployment has fallen from 108,000 to 64,000 (April 2005). Unemployment as a percentage of the economically active population has dropped from 7.1% in 2001 to 5.9% in 2004 and unemployment rates in the region are now falling faster than the national level.