The Network was the HEFCE pathfinder for engagement by higher education in the 14-19 diploma in engineering. The work was taken forward in partnership with Aimhigher North East.

The second annual conference of the North East Higher Skills Network ‘Making Skills Work for the North East’ was held on the 7th March 2008 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland.

The Network has distributed additional student numbers (ASNs) to support a mixture of new courses, reconfigured courses and enhanced capacity to recruit to existing courses that address regional skills needs.

The Network commissioned research in January 2008 to improve understanding of how employers perceived their engagement with universities and colleges in the North East.

The Leitch Review considered the UK’s long-term skills needs for economic growth, productivity and social justice within the context of the rapidly changing global economy. The Government subsequently published a response to the Review.

HEFCE consulted in December 2006 on the main elements of its policy for supporting higher education in further education colleges.

DIUS published a consultation document in April 2008 which set out the Government’s aims for higher skills and was intended to prompt discussion of how excellent higher skills could be developed.

iwant2b is an innovative mapping tool that enables individual learners to identify progression routes that are tailored to their personal needs.

The Network produced this document in March 2008 to demonstrate how it was contributing to the delivery of the Leitch Review in the region.

This is the business case that was submitted to HEFCE in September 2005 to secure funding for the Network.

Lifelong learning networks exist to facilitate progression for vocational learners. The Network has produced a suite of progression agreement templates to help to formalise this process.