Tomorrow the Code Academy is launching at the BALTIC Centre for
Contemporary Art in Gateshead. This is a very encouraging step by industry, helping to
fill the digital skills gap, and complements the work being done by Local
Enterprise Partnerships, and the Government.
These are the skills we need in the North East for the
future. Already a leading technology centre, the North East is well placed to
push on to become a real centre of excellence, as part of the wider Northern
Powerhouse. Only last month, GP Bullhound, one of Europe’s largest technology
investment banks, came out in emphatic support of the technology industry in
the North East, publishing a list of nine companies with the potential to
become $1 billion businesses. The region already has a turnover of £1.7
billion, across 199 different technology firms.
Moving forward, it is vital that we maintain and build on
this success, and it is with schemes, like the Code Academy, that we can ensure
that the skills of the future stay in the North East.