THE past year could be remembered as the year that helped shape the economic future of the North-East – 12 months of progress and huge change within the region.

The headline event was undoubtedly the Nissan announcement that it is to invest £400m in electric vehicles (EV).

It was the culmination of a great deal of pioneering work in the region, not only to land the investment, but to turn the decision by Nissan into an economic opportunity for the North-East.

As a result of the development, Nissan will create and safeguard jobs. However, it is up to the region to create opportunities and increase our suppliers and manufacturers.

To do this, we must sell our capabilities and strengths, which we are doing in the UK and internationally. Our progress is evidenced by the number of visits to the region and invitations to present our work at conferences across the world.

Nissan is the biggest, but certainly not the only, player in the region. Small manufacturers such as Avid and Liberty both launched vehicles this year designed and built in the region.

To underpin this developing industry, we need skilled people. To ensure the workforce is fit for purpose, we have started work on a unique £8m college to train people in the skills required to take the EV sector forward.

Sunderland University has also developed a master’s degree in low-carbon vehicles.

The partnership we have developed with Nissan will have significant benefits across the whole region.

A new test track at the Wearside plant will be made accessible to companies, universities and colleges to both develop products and train people.

This is a major coup for the region because the nearest track designed for vehicle testing is more than 200 miles away.

The region has also been selected as one of only three areas of the UK to introduce a comprehensive infrastructure of charging points. These are going in from Berwick, in the north, to as far as Stockton, which is the farthest south so far.

The points will be installed at a number of the region’s major attractions, including the length of Hadrian’s Wall.

The region is the first in the country to have launched a membership scheme to allow EV drivers access to the posts along with other benefits of EV ownership (visit charge yourcar.org.uk for more information).

This is becoming a benchmark for other UK regions planning to adopt it.

The icing on the cake for this year was the Nissan Leaf being crowned European Car of the Year before it had even arrived. This is a ringing endorsement of a world-leading example of new technology.

This year promises to be another landmark year, with the arrival of the first volumes of EV and major testing of the various vehicles and infrastructure.

The college will open and take in its first students and Nissan’s new European battery mother plant will be fitted out ready for production to start next year.

Colin Herron is the Manufacturing and productivity manager, One North East