How RE:GEN Academy is creating real pathways into employment across the North East.
At a time when the construction industry is facing mounting pressure around skills shortages, ageing workforces and widening gaps between training and employment, one North East organisation is taking a markedly different approach.
Backed by the long-term visibility and investment pipeline of RE:GEN Group, RE:GEN Academy has quickly positioned itself as one of the region’s most progressive employer-led training providers – connecting local people to genuine career opportunities across refurbishment, retrofit and regeneration.
But for Academy Director Cheryl Campbell, the mission goes far beyond employability statistics.
“Regeneration should never just be about buildings,” she says. “It should be about enhancing lives, strengthening communities and making sure the people living on the doorstep of investment can genuinely benefit from it.”
And that philosophy is helping the Academy make real headway across the sector.
“We can see where the jobs will be needed”
Unlike many traditional training providers, the Academy’s model has been built around real-time industry demand and long-standing relationships across the housing sector.
Through RE:GEN Group’s partnerships with 142 June 2026 five of the largest social housing providers in the North East, the Academy has unique visibility of future investment, future works and future skills demand.
That visibility, Cheryl explains, changes everything.
“We’re not designing programmes in isolation or training people for hypothetical opportunities,” she says. “We can see where investment is happening, where the gaps are emerging and where jobs will be needed in the years ahead. That allows us to create direct, sustainable pathways into employment.”
The result is a model firmly rooted in both community impact and commercial reality – something increasingly important in an industry grappling with workforce shortages and an ageing talent pool.
Creating opportunity where it matters most
The Academy has supported hundreds of people into employment but notably 46 social housing residents to date, including 15 during FY25/26, while achieving a 74% progression rate across its programmes.
But behind those figures are stories of confidence rebuilt, careers launched and communities strengthened.
Many of the learners supported by the Academy come directly from the same communities where regeneration projects are taking place – creating opportunities close to home for people who may never have previously considered construction as a viable career route.
“It’s about showing people that opportunity exists for them too,” Cheryl explains. “Not somewhere else. Not in theory. Right here, within their own communities.”
Alongside supporting people into work, the Academy also continues to help address wider industry challenges around upskilling, reskilling and attracting new talent into the sector.
Collaboration over competition
Partnership working sits at the heart of the Academy’s approach.
Over the past year, the organisation has worked collaboratively with partners including NECA, TVCA, ETC, EPNE, HENNE and NEHP, alongside housing providers, employers and local stakeholders across the region.
For Cheryl, collaboration is essential if the industry is serious about creating lasting change.
“When organisations align around the same goals, the impact goes far beyond employment figures,” she says. “You create stronger communities, greater social mobility and long term opportunities that genuinely change lives.”
As the Academy continues to grow, visibility has also played an increasingly important role in communicating that impact. Working alongside Blue Moon Marketing, the organisation has refined its proposition and strengthened how it communicates its mission across the sector.
Because ultimately, for RE:GEN Academy, this is about far more than training. It’s about delivering lasting impact.
Businesses, housing providers and organisations interested in collaborating with the Academy to create meaningful employment pathways are encouraged to connect with the team and be part of shaping the future workforce of the industry.
Looking for advice on how to effectively communicate your mission? Drop us an email: anne@bluemoon-marketing.co.uk