Educational awarding organisation, NCFE, has become a member of the Governments Northern Powerhouse Partnership Programme.
The North East-based charity, which provides of a range of nationally recognised technical qualifications and educational services has joined the Northern Powerhouse as a means of furthering its core purpose, to ‘Promote and Advance Learning’.
Through its diverse range of nationally recognised NCFE and CACHE branded vocational qualifications and resources, NCFE has supported millions of UK learners into employment. Becoming a part of the Northern Powerhouse gives the organisation the opportunity to build on this success by partnering with other leading employers and regional stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the region’s needs, its function and impact on a national scale.
The Northern Powerhouse has been gaining real traction and momentum in recent months, so to be joining the movement at such a pivotal time is really exciting for NCFE, said David Gallagher, Chief Executive at NCFE.
For over 170 years, NCFE has promoted social mobility and improved productivity through learning to ensure that people from all walks of life have the means and opportunity to achieve their goals. Social mobility is a huge focus area for the Northern Powerhouse which aligns perfectly with our core purpose and provides us with a unique opportunity to extend the reach and impact of our work.
Whilst we operate across the UK and internationally, we are very proud of our northern roots and still house our headquarters in Newcastle. As a not-for-profit organisation, we are passionate about reinvesting in our services to provide skills for people in the North through our educational solutions, but also to be seen as a leading employer in the region, providing good, sustainable jobs for local people.
The primary aim of The Northern Powerhouse is to boost the regional economy through investment in skills, innovation, transport and culture. Through its Partnership Programme, the Powerhouse encourages members to work together, supported by the government, to establish change and build expertise in these four key areas to help make the North a great place to live and work.
With this in mind, NCFE has also recently announced a new strategic partnership with The Northern Skills Network (NSN), a fellow Northern Powerhouse partner.
The partnership will see the two companies working together to help increase the productivity, prosperity and social mobility of the North, in line with the Northern Powerhouse agenda, by increasing the skill levels of both young people entering work for the first time, and existing employees within the workforce. Across the North of England, the challenges and opportunities facing the FE and skills arena are significant. By working collaboratively, NCFE and NSN can harness each other’s resources to develop a shared understanding of the ever-changing skills landscape and become the ‘go to’ organisation for insights and advice on the skills and education issues affecting the North, representing the wants and needs of the education sector as a whole within a national context.
“This is a really exciting time for NCFE,” David Gallagher continued. “Our aspiration for the North is to drive up skills levels wherever we see an opportunity in the market and to influence change in skills strategy with a focus on innovation.
“Our work with The Northern Powerhouse and The Northern Skills Network will not only help us to support our own region to achieve its economic goals, but it will also help us to solidify our understanding of the needs of the North on a wider scale, which will in turn enable us to shape our teaching and learning provision and innovate solutions to better meet skills needs.”
NCFE is a registered charity which aims to promote and advance learning for individuals, schools and colleges, employers and training providers through its range of educational services.
To find out more, visit: www.ncfe.org.uk