Stuart Cottee, practice senior partner at Deloitte in the North East explains how Deloitte has made a commitment to the Tees Valley and how the region has a once in a generation opportunity
Deloitte has had an office in Newcastle for many years and we’ve recently announced we’re recruiting roles that will be based in Teesside. The firm has made this commitment following a conference we held last November in Middlesbrough which was attended by over 100 organisations, the aim of which was to get people talking about levelling up and economic growth in the Tees Valley.
We know from having a base in the North East that the Tees Valley is rich in talent and has a proud history of its workers innovating, getting results and having an impact that spreads far beyond the region. We were so inspired by the opportunities discussed at the conference that we felt we needed to make our own contribution to economic growth in the Tees Valley.
Economic growth and levelling up is important to me personally – I was born and bred in County Durham, I’ve raised my six children in the North East and I want my children and grandchildren to have equal career and education opportunities. I really want to see this region thrive – I think we have a once in a generation opportunity to make this happen.
I’m fortunate to work for an organisation that has the same values – levelling up is important to Deloitte and its regions business – over 50% of our people and partners are based outside London.
Tees Valley Mayor, Ben Houchen was a keynote speaker at our conference and he told delegates about his work on the regeneration of the region. Ben and his team are encouraging cleaner, safer and healthier industries of the future to make their base here. Teesworks and the Teesside Freeport are also helping by pioneering low-carbon advances, plus the Darlington Economic Campus is bringing hundreds of top civil service jobs to the region. This is why the Tees Valley is attracting more big firms to the region. Ben said at our conference that “The Tees Valley is now at a moment of unprecedented opportunity.”
Recruitment drive Deloitte will initially recruit for 25 roles in our tax business. Half the roles will be for technology professionals running a new digital platform that Deloitte is launching, CustomsClear, which automates the preparation and submission of customs declarations. The other roles will be for marketing professionals who will work with Deloitte teams across Europe. This is the first time Deloitte has recruited for roles specifically based in the Tees Valley. Our new team in the Tees Valley will experience hybrid working, having access to an office to connect and collaborate but also being able to work from home in the way that suits them best. As a firm we are finding this hybrid model appeals to professionals who might be returning to work, have family commitments or simply want a better work life balance. I also hope that these roles may encourage people who might have moved away from the area to relocate back here.
We asked Ben to comment on our recruitment drive in the Tees Valley and he said: “This new announcement from Deloitte is fantastic news and will see the firm join the growing number of companies making a commitment to Teesside.
“By recruiting directly across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool, this multinational firm is backing our region and its skilled workers. It’s also another example of how people can stay local but go far, and don’t need to leave their hometowns for big cities to secure good-quality, well-paid careers with prestigious organisations.”
The pandemic has not changed the work we do but it has changed the way we work. A recent survey of our staff showed that 81% anticipate working from an office for up to two days a week as we return to the new normal. The research also revealed that 96% of our people want to have the freedom to choose how flexibly they will work in the future. In addition, 86% of our staff ranked ‘collaborating with team colleagues’ and ‘interacting with others’ within their top three ways they envisage using the office. Following on from what our people have told us we have recently opened our first ‘future of work’ office in Newcastle and it is the first UK office specifically designed for the firm’s new hybrid working model with sustainability at the core of the design.
