THE largest employer in Northumberland is playing its part in a training initiative.

Egger hosted the first day of the 21st Century Workforce Development Initiative pilot with the second cohort of mini-exec MBA participants from a range of Northumberland employers.

The initiative, funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering and supported by the likes of Northumberland County Council, seeks to address employability, education, equity and opportunity by delivering training in collaboration with employers across the county.

Clare Ball, HR manager at Egger said: “As the largest employer in Northumberland, we are delighted to be part of the 21st Century Workforce Development. 

"It is more critical than ever to consider existing and future employment challenges within our region. Key to this challenge is what we can do as employers from a practical and strategic perspective to support skills development and overcome inequalities.”

Delivered by Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, the five-day course will visit different locations in Northumberland so that participants can discover the different work-places, cultures and geographies of their peers. 

Dr Alex Hope, deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor for the faculty of business and law at Northumbria University, added: “Through our research, knowledge exchange partnerships and professional development courses, we already collaborate and engage extensively with businesses and policy makers across the region, so we are delighted to be involved with this powerful initiative to help create the leaders of the future.”

Northumberland employers have helped to design the pilot’s four focused training programmes.