who we are

The North East Higher Skills Network (NEHSN) is an inclusive partnership of all 28 of the region’s universities and colleges working with other key partners, dedicated to addressing higher skills shortages and raising the skills level of the workforce in North East England.

We do this by

  • Ensuring that learning opportunities meet employers’ and employees’ needs
  • Working with employers to identify shortages and gaps in skills and engage employees in developing their higher skills
  • Making information about learning opportunities easier to understand and access to clarify options and raise aspirations
  • Supporting providers of information, advice and guidance (IAG) to raise awareness of opportunities and progression routes

Themes

NEHSN is concentrating its efforts in four main streams of activity:

  • Access and Progression - ensuring that education and training programmes are accessible, meet learners’ and employers’ needs and offer a stepping stone onto higher qualifications.
  • Employer Engagement - gaining commitment from employers to improve the higher skills levels of current and future employees, and working together to continually improve opportunities..
  • Information, Advice and Guidance - improving access to up-to-date information about vocational learning routes and empowering learners to select the right route for them. This includes the comprehensive ‘iwant2b’ web-based advice programme (www.iwant2b.org.uk).
  • Partnership Working - building productive, sustainable relationships which make vocational skills development an integral part of our culture as a network of higher skills providers.

Our offices

Map showing locations of our offices and members. Our offices are at:

Our stakeholders

The North East Higher Skills Network works with a range of organisations to achieve its mission. We are grateful for their support.

  • Asset Skills
  • Automotive Skills
  • Business Clubs North East
  • CELS
  • Children’s Workforce Development Confederation
  • Connexions
  • COGENT
  • Derwentside Engineering Forum
  • ECITB (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board)
  • EEF Northern
  • Energy and Utility Skills
  • Energy Industries Council
  • e-Skills
  • Federation of Small Businesses – local, regional, national
  • Improve
  • Local Adult and Children’s Services
  • Local authorities business development teams
  • NECC
  • NEPIC
  • Next Step
  • Proskills
  • Sedgefield Engineering Partnership
  • SEMTA
  • Skillfast UK
  • Skills Active
  • Skills for Care and Development
  • Skills for Health
  • Sub-regional care alliances
  • Summit Skills
  • Tees Valley Engineering Partnership
  • Unionlearn
  • Workbased Learning Providers