Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to help support universities in the North East to provide skilled graduates for the region’s life science sector.

The department has worked with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students (OfS), and across the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates looking to enter the labour market. This includes supporting graduates to work in life sciences.

We have also developed the graduate employment and skills guide, which was published on 10 May 2021 on the OfS’ website. The guide signposts graduate to public, private, and voluntary sector opportunities to help them build employability skills, gain work experience, or enter the labour market.

Additionally, the Medical Research Council targets around £85 million each year towards developing research careers, supporting around 1,600 PhD students. Many students are based within North East Universities, including Newcastle University.