Durham University student Charlotte Ray is working with BUSINESSiQ as part of her English degree. She travelled to Teesworks for an exclusive tour and told us what she thinks.
Teesworks is the UK’s largest freeport covering 4,500 acres on the banks of the River Tees.
As Europe’s largest brownfield site, it is unrivalled in its size and is, therefore, a prime opportunity for young people to take advantage of.
Combining modern manufacturing with a net-zero carbon emissions goal, Teesworks is an industrial area that will act as the new chapter for a location that was once home to a vast steel manufacturing facility.
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Having visited the site myself, the sheer size of the development is almost incomprehensible. Despite the flattened earth and mounds of rubble, it is easy to visualise the space filled with businesses all requiring personnel.
There are plenty of influential businesses that already call this part of the region home, such as Hanson, British Steel, MGT Teesside, TARMAC, and BOC, PD Ports and Northumbrian Water.
Yet, even with these large companies as neighbours, Teesworks is still a vast amount of empty space that will be made ready for businesses to inhabit.
It is difficult to imagine the number of the jobs that will be provided, especially as the site is still in the early stages of development.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen promises that the huge project will create thousands of jobs, with the offshore wind manufacturing space creating over 4,000 jobs alone.
Like many other young people, I struggle to understand the career path needed to acquire the promised jobs. It seems there is not a concrete pathway just yet. This, coupled with the fact that it is not widely known when exactly these jobs will materialise means that it is difficult to see these jobs as a real opportunity at the moment.
Realistically, it could be a while before the majority of these jobs are available. The question is: what do young people do in the meantime?
Perhaps a saving grace is the fact that individuals who express an interest in working on the Teesworks site can have their CV and skillset inputted into a database and, when employers have jobs available, the candidates will be matched with those vacancies.
Furthermore, the creation of the new Teesworks Skills Academy means that more than 300 training courses are on offer for everyone. These courses range from one day essential ‘Licence to Operation’ courses to Level 5 higher apprenticeships. Crucially, they are aligned with the current and future needs of the Teesworks development.
It is clear that the Academy is bridging the gap between the school leavers and the jobs at the end of the process, but further clarity is needed to help young people understand the possibilities available to them.
Even though most young people might want to wait for a more permanent opportunity to present itself in the form of a lasting position within one of the future businesses in Teesworks, jobs can undoubtedly be found in the companies that already exist on the development or even within companies doing the building work.
The sheer enormity of the development itself might present itself as an opportunity for a young person to find a job. For example, Thompsons of Prudhoe, a local business specialising in demolition, might need more personnel or the Tesco distribution centre might be looking to fill positions. Jobs in these organisations could potentially lead to more permanent positions or act as a temporary venture before more permanent employment becomes available.
Whilst the uncertainty over future jobs is far from ideal, it was encouraging to witness the speed of the development first-hand. One employee said that, even after just a four-day break from work, he must refamiliarise himself with the site as it changes so dramatically every day.
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Perhaps a way to encourage young people to think more seriously about the Teesworks development as a real possibility would be to allow them to see the progress being made on the site first-hand. Whilst, logistically, it could be quite a task to allow people to visit the site, a time-lapsed video or a controlled visit could motivate individuals to consider it as a valuable opportunity, benefitting both them and the businesses they will be working for.
It is clear that rapid progress is being made and hopefully, it will not be too long before more businesses make Teesworks their home.
The arrival of more businesses means the arrival of the promised jobs. It is just a matter of young people realising this.
Maybe individuals can kickstart their career with a course at the Teesworks Academy as an initial stepping-stone to acquiring a job.
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