This month will see students everywhere eagerly (and some perhaps not so eagerly) anticipating and receiving GCSE and A-Level results.

With those results come big decisions about the future: where, ultimately, do they want to work? Is the way forward an academic or a vocational one? Where can they best acquire the skills and experience they need to do what they want to do in life?

With a broader range of options now than there has ever been, and in a heavily competitive jobs market, matching skills to the needs of the business world is critical.

Creating ever closer ties between education and business at every level is vital to help ensure people develop the skills that will enhance their employability, and to help employers source the workforce they need to ensure future growth.

The Government is rolling out measures that will place more emphasis on high quality vocational education which help better answer employers’ needs. For example, its planned Technical Baccalaureate Measure – vocational alternative to A-Levels – will give students the technical capabilities employers want and place focus further on developing the skills the economy needs to grow.

The Government’s Employer Ownership Pilot, which routes public money direct to employers, enabling them to develop and deliver bespoke training for employees, announced funding awards of £67 million to 34 businesses last autumn to develop the vocational training programmes they need to grow.

Employer-led learning is alive and well here in York and North Yorkshire, too, where a range of people and organisations are working together to develop partnerships that are creating opportunities for students, as well as opportunities for the business community to invest in developing its future workforce.

We, along with other Yorkshire universities, will help identify and propose eligible projects which can gain access to Yorkshire Innovation Funding. Its Innovation Vouchers aim to help encourage businesses to gain new knowledge to encourage innovation, develop and grow.

Businesses are also actively encouraged to work with us here at York St John, for example, to help shape the curriculum. Setting final year projects that lay down ‘real world’ problems and challenges for undergraduates to solve and overcome provide fantastic – and relevant - learning opportunities.

Getting involved in shaping education, training and employment solutions is a fantastic way for businesses to create exactly the workforce they need. And it isn’t a privilege reserved for the big multinationals. There are plenty of opportunities here on your doorstep – please do get involved.