THE North-East needs to do more to retain its brightest graduates and help them turn ideas into viable businesses, a conference heard last week.
Representatives from the region's universities and the public and private sectors agreed all efforts should be made to make the North-East a more attractive place for graduates.
The delegates at the Entrepreneurs' Forum, in Gateshead, said that more also needed to be done to attract talent to the North-East to enable the region to compete in global markets.
Pat Ritchie, of regional development agency One NorthEast, said: "It's no longer possible to see the North-East economy as distinct or separate; we must put ourselves in a global context.
"The future will be about attracting higher skills to complement our existing skills base."
Julia Moore, a graduate from Newcastle University, said: "Businesses in the region need to truly understand what graduates who are eager and willing can offer."
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