Chair: George Ritchie (SembCorp)

Secretariat: COGENT, other Partners involved: ONE, LSC, CPI, PICME, TVEP

The need to up-skill the existing workforce and to attract and retain new entrants to the sector are two of the most significant challenges facing the Process Industry in the North East of England.

In line with the NEPIC GDP Growth Strategy, a number of Broad Action Plans have been developed by the NEPIC Skills, Education & Engagement Group to achieve key objectives. This involves an extensive organisation which has been set up by NEPIC, including representatives from industry, education, training & support agencies.

NEPIC Skills, Education & Engagement Group members

George Ritchie, SembCorp Utilities UK (Group Chair)
Mark Chapman, Cogent (Secretariat)
Ian Mains, NEPIC
Iain Taylor, NEPIC Consultant
Gordon Jackson, One NorthEast
Sam Pearson, STEMNET
Graham Cleland, Rohm & Haas
Philip Bailey, Lucite International
Craig Crowther, TTE
Martin Inskip, Merck Sharp & Dohme
Malcolm Oliver, R. Blackett Charlton
Lindsay Middleton, SEMTA
Simon Wigington, LSC
Kath Gardiner, Regional Skills Partnership
Kevin Thrower, GlaxoSmithKline
Angus Watson, Lucite International / CITO

The remit of the Skills, Education & Engagement Group is to:

- Provide overall strategic direction for the skills and education activities helping to seek funding and stakeholder support.
- Guide and advise the Skills and Education & Engagement Teams in their activities.

NEPIC Skills Team

The NEPIC Skills Team aims to define the number, type and level of resources to support the growth plans within the North East Process Industry.

Team members

George Ritchie, SembCorp Utilities UK (Team Chair)
Lindsay Middleton, SEMTA (Secretariat)
John Billington, NEPIC Consultant
Craig Crowther TTE
Mark Chapman, Cogent
Rob Storey, Route 1 Solutions
John Wood, Rohm & Haas
Alan Marsh, Lucite International
Linda Bakewell, CPI
Bruce Williams, Avecia Biologics
Brian Smith, LDR Squared
Mark Wood, sanofi-aventis
Alan Bainbridge, Newcastle College
Zulf Ali, University of Teesside
Phill Thomas, Roevin
Lesley Monghan, Business Link
Joyce Burns, The Specials Laboratory
Simon Wigington, LSC

The remit of the Skills Team is to:

- Ensure that skill gaps and shortages within the industry are prioritised and addressed through appropriate project identification and implementation.
- Improve productivity in the Process Industry through better coordination, utilisation and development of regional training provision.
- Support the establishment of a Process Industry National Skills Academy (PINSA), which will be a centre of excellence for training and skills development.
- Promote modern apprenticeship schemes and other vocational routes of entry to the Process Industry.
- Attend North East University Careers Fairs to promote graduate entry.
- Recruit new entrants via Job Centre Plus, the Armed Forces and from overseas.

NEPIC Education & Engagement Team

The NEPIC Education & Engagement Team aims to develop the strategy to present the Process Industry in the North East of England as being an attractive place to work.

The team aims to attract and retain young people in general to the science-based industries & reverse the trend of reduced number of entrants to science & engineering courses in further education and higher education, and increasing closure of science & engineering facilities.

Furthermore, the team is to encourage more entrants in general to the industry to combat the 'demographic time-bomb' of an ageing workforce, particularly in the base chemical sector and to improve the perception of the industry with the general public, a block to recruitment.

The team need to develop working partnerships with a wide range of science education programmes at sub-regional, regional and national levels, encouraging all member organisations to commit time and resources to establish such links with local schools, colleges & universities.

Team members

Graham Cleland, Rohm & Haas (Team Chair)
Allan Clements, CIEC (Secretariat)
Leila Elliott, NEPIC Consultant
Emma Dover, NEPIC
Sara O'Brien, sanofi-aventis
Dave Ryder, BASF
Angela Hughes, Huntsman
Michele Woodland, Thomas Swan
Sally Preston, Science Learning Centre North East
Jackie England, SETPOINT
Alisdair Nicholas, Framwellgate School, Durham
Jonathan Harburn, University of Sunderland
Joanne Poelman, Merck Sharp & Dohme
Sam Pearson, STEMNET
Joanne Rout, CIEC
Leanne Hart, AMEC
Rachel Clayton, Avecia Biologics
Shaz Rashid, Avecia Biologics

The remit of the Education & Engagement Team is to:

- Extend the highly successful Children Challenging Industry and Primary Science Enhancement Projects across the North East.
- Support Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives.
- Build on NEPIC's own Science Education Unit which currently has over 70 successful projects running in schools, e.g. Chemistry Jamboree, Chemistry at Work, etc.
- Operate the contract of SETPOINT Northumberland.

Be part of a pioneering development in Tees Valley Are which provides - A vocational route to higher education and top jobs - Earn while you learn - Sponsorship and support from major companies We are looking for 24 high calibre 16 -17 year olds for this exciting new programme to start in Sept 2006. If you have commitment and enthusiasm and have (or expect to get) good GCSEs this is could be for you. To learn more click here.		The Children Challenging Industry project enables 9-11 year old pupils to experience real-life science by visiting chemical and related companies. To visit the CCI section of our website click here.

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