• In 2020, more than three in every twenty North East employees worked in health 
• Manufacturing, education, retail and hospitality were each responsible for 9 to 10% of North East employment

According to more up to date statistics for broader categories, North East employment in many service industries decreased between 2020 and 2021 

In January-December 2021, about 48,000 people in the North East LEP area were working in non-permanent employment. This represented about 5.4% of all in employment, up from 4.7% a year earlier and higher than the rate for England excluding London (4.6%).
 

In the last three months of 2021, about 32,000 people in the North East region were in employment on a zero-hours contract, about 2.7% of all in employment. The North East region’s rate was lower than that for England excluding London (3.3%) and was down from 3.5% a year earlier. (Note that regional data can be volatile).
 

In the North East LEP area, the most mentioned technical or practical skill needing improvement was role-specific specialist skills and knowledge, cited in 62% of cases, a higher percentage than nationally (53%). Organisation-specific and product-specific knowledge; the ability to solve complex problems; adapting to new equipment or materials; using guidance; and basic IT skills were each mentioned in more than 30% of North East cases.

The most mentioned people or soft skill in the North East was the ability to manage time and tasks, which needed development in 59% of cases. Team working, managing feelings and handling customers were each mentioned in more than 40% of cases. On the whole, these types of skills were less cited in the North East than nationally as requiring improvement.
 

In 2019, about 61% of North East establishments stated that there would be a need for upskilling in the following 12 months. Among these, the most cited skills that required development were role-specific specialist skills; product-specific knowledge; adapting to new equipment or materials; solving complex problems; and IT skills
 

• In 2018/19, just over 8,900 learners achieved an apprenticeship as their highest aim. Apprenticeships are paid jobs that include an off-the-job programme of learning 
•  About 91% of these learners had a sustained destination of employment, learning or both in the following year. 71% went into sustained employment only, 2% went into sustained learning only and 18% combined employment and learning 
• The percentage with a sustained destination was one percentage point lower than that for the 2017/18 cohort. This change was driven by a five percentage point decrease in the proportion going into sustained employment only, although this was almost completely offset by a four percentage point increase in the proportion going into combined employment and education 
• The North East’s percentage with a sustained destination was the same as that for England as a whole. Nationally, a larger percentage went into sustained employment only, with a smaller percentage going into combined employment and learning 
• The total percentage going into sustained employment varied little by level of apprenticeship, ranging from 89% to 90%. However, the proportions going into employment that was not combined with learning were more variable. They ranged from 67% among those achieving the lowest level of apprenticeship to 83% among those achieving the highest. 
   

There were 6,510 apprenticeship achievements in the North East LEP area in 2020/21. This is a lower total than in each of the two previous years, although the latest decrease was much smaller than in 2019/20 and included increases in the numbers of advanced and higher level apprenticeship achievements.
 

The fall in the number achievements has been faster in lower level courses.

More than half of North East further education aims achievements in 2020/21 were in two subjects: preparation for life and work; and health, public services and care.

North East achievements in the former have almost halved in the past two years
 

• In percentage terms, the North East’s specialisms among England’s qualifiers are headed by physical sciences and geography, earth and environmental studies
• A further six subjects also had 5% or more of qualifiers in England

• Almost 7,700 higher education qualifiers from North East universities in 2020/21 were studying business and management subjects
• Subjects allied to medicine; social sciences; engineering and technology; and education and teaching each had over 2,000 qualifiers

• Almost 79% of graduates from HE institutions in the North East who responded were in employment 15 months after graduation, including over 11% combining employment with further study. The England percentage (almost 80%) was slightly higher but North East graduates were slightly more likely to be in full-time employment 
•  Almost 21% of North East graduates were in further study, a higher proportion than nationally (almost 19%). In both cases, more than half were combining study with employment 
• About 6.8% of North East graduates were unemployed with a further 5% not participating in the labour market for non-study reasons (e.g. caring roles, travel or retirement). These percentages were similar to the national equivalents 
• The latest survey was only the second but responses show differences in destinations, possibly due to the impact of COVID on the economy. North East graduates in 2018/19 were less likely to be working full-time than the 2017/18 equivalents. They were more likely to be combining employment with study or to be unemployed
• Almost 86% of 2018/19 North East postgraduate qualifiers were in employment 15 months later, compared to just over 75% of undergraduate qualifiers. The latter were more likely to be undertaking further study and were also almost twice as likely to be unemployed.
   

• Five years after graduation, just under two fifths (39%) of graduates from the four universities in the North East LEP area were still living in the North East region. This was slightly higher than the percentage that had a home residence in the region prior to study (36%) 
• About 30% of the graduates were living in London, the South East and East of England (the “Greater South East”), about 11 percentage points higher than the proportion before study. Comparing the cohorts of 2014/15 and 2016/17 graduates suggests that much of the movement to the “Greater South East” took place between the first and third year after graduation 
   

• The regions of residence of graduates five years after graduation varied greatly by North East university. About 82% of graduates from Sunderland were in the North East region, compared just 9% from Durham, 29% from Newcastle and 52% from Northumbria. These percentages were similar to or slightly higher than the percentages of graduates with a home in the region, except in Newcastle where there was an eight percentage point net increase
• Graduates from Durham were more likely to have originated in the Greater South East than in the three northern regions of England and much more likely to be living there five years after graduation. For each of the other three universities, more than half of graduates originated in the North of England and more than half were living in the north five years after graduation 

• Over three fifths of graduates with a home in the North East region had studied in the region. Nationally, less than two fifths of graduates studied in their home region. 
• Five years after graduation about 85% of graduates originating in the North East region were living in the region. Almost two thirds of these had studied in the North East. Nationally, about 73% of graduates were in their home region, with less than half of this percentage being graduates who had studied in their own region.