News
What Happens When Schools and Employers Work Together? >
The answer, this year, has been clear to see. Feedback from the latest round of our Connect Inspires programme shows just how powerful meaningful employer engagement can be, for young people and employers alike. Students are leaving their workplace visits with a much better understanding of the career opportunities that exist right here in Northumberland. […]
Mixing It Up: Whytrig Pupils Discover the Science of Colour at AkzoNobel >
Ever wondered what it takes to create the colour on your bedroom wall? For a group of curious Year 8 pupils from Whytrig Middle School, that question became a hands-on reality during a recent Spark Northumberland visit to AkzoNobel. Twenty students spent the day at one of Northumberland’s major manufacturers, getting a genuine behind-the-scenes look […]
A Day on the Doorstep: Students Discover Offshore Engineering at Osbit >
For many young people in Northumberland, the careers happening right on their doorstep remain entirely out of sight. Bringing those opportunities to life is at the very heart of Spark Northumberland, and a recent school visit to Osbit is a perfect example of it in action. We want all of Northumberland’s young people to understand […]
Hundreds of Careers, One Employer >
Ask a young person what a career in the NHS looks like, and many will picture doctors and nurses. But the reality is far bigger and far more exciting. That’s exactly the story we set out to tell with our latest Spark Northumberland employer feature. We were privileged to spend time filming with Northumbria Healthcare […]
World-Class Manufacturing on the Doorstep >
When young people picture their future career, world-class manufacturing isn’t always the first thing that springs to mind. Spark Northumberland is on a mission to change that, and our recent visit to Egger is a perfect example of why. As one of Northumberland’s largest employers, Egger is home to an extraordinary range of careers. From […]
From Distillery Floor to Career Inspiration >
Nestled in the market town of Wooler, Ad Gefrin is a place where ancient heritage meets modern craft. And now, thanks to their involvement with Spark Northumberland, the young people of our county will get to see exactly what a career in this remarkable place could look like. We were delighted to spend time filming […]
Filming progress… >
Our busy Summer of filming in different employers across Northumberland continues apace! From museums to space age technology, the content on Spark Northumberland is becoming more diverse week by week as we now work through the editing process. And of course, there is much more to come with further employers being pencilled into the diary […]
Classroom to Careers: Bridging the gap between education & employment. >
In January 2026, Connect Northumberland brought together educators, employers and community leaders at Renolit’s world-class manufacturing facility in Cramlington for a morning of honest, inspiring conversation about one of the most important questions facing our county: how do we help young people move confidently from classroom to career? The event sat at the very […]
Connect Inspires: Showing Northumberland’s young people what’s possible >
Northumberland is an extraordinary place to build a career. World-class manufacturers, renewable energy pioneers, pharmaceutical innovators, technology companies and creative industries – the county has more to offer young people than most of them will ever realise. And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. For too many young people growing up here, the careers […]
What happens when you open your doors to young people? >
From pharma labs to the Council Chamber: two visits that showed Northumberland’s young people what’s possible Connect Northumberland’s Connect Inspires programme has taken young people from two very different schools into two very different worlds and the results were everything we could have hoped for. Arcinova, Alnwick Year 7 students from Bede Academy visited Arcinova, […]
