The closure of Ellington Colliery, the last working pit in the once mighty North-East coalfield, highlights the transition that has taken place in the region.

Incredible to think that, 80 years ago, a quarter of a million men and boys were employed down North-East mines - 170,000 in the Durham coalfield alone.

The industry's global impact can be measured by the fact that if you mention Newcastle to many Americans they will instantly respond: "the place you don't take coals to". The phrase was included in the curriculum of many US schools.

Of course, there hasn't been a pit in the Newcastle area for many years and perhaps the biggest evidence of that city's rebirth is the fact that people outside the region now regard it as a cosmopolitan European city rather than an industrial dinosaur.

Coalmining must be one of the hardest ways to earn a living, as well as one of the most dangerous. I'm sure that not many miners would have wanted their children to follow in their footsteps,

The fact is that the giant industrial employers, such as the mines, shipyards, steel or chemical plants, that guaranteed work for school leavers, are becoming a thing of the past.

School leavers are expected to have more qualifications than in years gone by and they have greater expectations from life.

If towns are to survive they have to embrace new industries, attract new businesses and ensure their talented graduates do not have to move too far away to find work.

So I was delighted to attend an event earlier this week as part of the Animex festival in Middlesbrough.

It is a showcase of the talent we have in the North-East in the cutting edge industry of creative visualisation and computer animation.

Don't make the mistake of dismissing this as cartoons. It has become an integral part of many industries, including communication, advertising, TV and film.

Teesside is at the forefront of this industry. The university attracts the best graduates from across the world and many have already stayed on and set up businesses in the area.

DigitalCity has sprung up - a self sustaining cluster of media and new technology businesses based around Teesside University.

And the work of Teesside graduates can be seen every day in areas as diverse as the sets of Bob The Builder to the popular TV show Walking With Dinosaurs and the hugely successful Matrix films.

Such is the high regard in which the industry in this region is held, that a senior figure from Pixar - the production company behind The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Toy Story - flew in from San Francisco to attend.

But the most telling statistic for me was also one that illustrated how the North-East jobs market is evolving.

I well remember how, as schoolchildren in Stockton, we were taken on trips to look round British Steel and ICI. Clearly, that is where many of us were expected to end up,

Well, last year alone, over 500 schoolchildren on Teesside were given an insight into the world of computer animation and creative visualisation.

King Coal may be dead, but the region is alive and kicking.

Published: 04/02/2005