NEWS

By Jamie Ollivere, RTC North

When you develop a strategy to take an organisation through to 2030, inevitably you spend a lot of time thinking about what is changing.

Technology is changing. The way businesses operate is changing. AI is moving at an extraordinary pace. Our economy is evolving, and across the North we are seeing new opportunities emerge in areas including advanced manufacturing, digital, clean growth and defence.

But behind all of that change sits one constant: people.

Our ability to turn economic opportunity into economic growth will ultimately depend on whether we have people with the right skills, knowledge and confidence to make it happen.

That is why Skills & STEM sits firmly at the heart of RTC North’s new Strategy 2030.

Building on strong foundations

Skills and STEM aren't new to RTC. Far from it.

We have one of the most established STEM engagement platforms in Northern England, reaching tens of thousands of young people and working with thousands of STEM Ambassadors. We have spent years bringing together schools, young people, employers and partners to make STEM careers visible and accessible.

That work has always delivered enormous social value.

What our new strategy does is recognise its wider strategic value too.

Skills and STEM is one of three areas where we are focusing our expertise, business development and delivery capability as we grow towards 2030, alongside Innovation and Scaleup and Manufacturing and Productivity.

For me, that's an important shift.

Because this isn't simply about delivering more STEM activity. It's about joining the dots between education, skills, employers and economic opportunity much more deliberately.

Skills can't be an afterthought.

Businesses across the North are adapting to new technology, digitalisation and AI while responding to changing markets and developing the products, services and industries that will drive our future economy.

Their skills needs are changing with them.

We can't wait until businesses struggle to recruit before we start thinking about the workforce they need. We need to work further upstream – helping employers understand and develop their existing workforce while also creating stronger, more diverse talent pipelines for the future.

That means continuing to inspire young people through STEM engagement and our STEM Ambassador network.

But it also means doing more around employer-led skills and workforce development, digital and AI skills, and creating stronger connections between businesses, education and the opportunities emerging across our economy.

Our strategy specifically identifies opportunities through programmes such as TechFirst, locally focused digital and STEM skills activity, the emerging workforce needs associated with AI, and wider employer-led work supporting social mobility and future talent pipelines.

The common thread is making sure that people can see, access and develop the skills they need to benefit from economic change – and that businesses have access to the talent they need to grow.

Growth and social impact should go together

There is another reason I am excited about the direction we are taking.

We don't see economic growth and social impact as two separate things.

Creating routes into STEM for young people who might not otherwise see those careers as being for them isn't just good for those individuals. It broadens our future talent pool.

Helping businesses develop the digital and AI capabilities of their workforce doesn't just help the individual employee. It makes businesses more productive and resilient.

And connecting employers more closely with education doesn't just create brilliant experiences for young people. It allows businesses to play an active role in developing the workforce they will depend upon in the future.

Our growing relationship with the North East STEM Foundation is an important part of that picture too, creating opportunities to work together to promote the STEM agenda and deliver greater impact for young people and communities across the North.

Looking towards 2030

RTC's purpose is simple: to inspire growth in people and business. Our new strategy doesn't change that. It sharpens our focus on where we believe we can make the biggest difference over the next few years.

For Skills and STEM, that means building on decades of experience while being ambitious about what comes next.

It means strengthening the connections between young people, educators and employers. Supporting businesses to respond to changing workforce needs. Helping people develop the digital and AI skills that will increasingly shape the world of work. And making sure opportunity reaches more people and more communities across the North.

Talent isn't something that sits alongside economic growth. It is central to it.

If we can create more opportunities for young people close to home, we can help businesses access the talent they need, strengthen local economies and give more people the confidence that they can build successful careers without feeling they need to leave their communities behind.

But this is about more than economics. It is about fairness and opportunity. Every young person should have the chance to fulfil their potential, regardless of where they grow up.

For many of our towns and communities, particularly those that have experienced industrial decline over recent decades, creating pathways into skilled careers can help restore confidence, pride and optimism. It allows young people to see a future for themselves in the places they call home.

If we get this right, we won't just support economic growth. We will help create stronger communities, greater social mobility and a more prosperous future for the country as a whole. And perhaps most importantly, we will ensure that more young people can build successful futures in the places that helped shape them.