Keighley College and Leeds City College are two of six further education providers across the region that will receive a combined £293,000 to invest in specialist equipment to deliver electric vehicle and retrofit training, grow and embed green knowledge within the curriculum and improve links with businesses to develop and enhance their green skills.
Bill Jones, Deputy CEO at Luminate Education Group, said: “We are delighted to be working with partners across the region to provide a solid foundation for future workers to develop green skills and learn about sustainability.
“As education providers, we aim to deliver quality learning experiences to our students, supporting them to progress into rewarding jobs that act as a catalyst for development in our region.
“This project will allow us to explore more green opportunities, and ensure that we successfully embed sustainable development goals into our curriculum.”
The Department for Education has announced that it will invest £2.6m in West Yorkshire’s colleges through the Strategic Development Fund.
The fund was launched in 2021 to help colleges and further education providers to transform their facilities and offer high quality technical training that better meet the needs of local employers and boost job opportunities for their communities.
This would mean that local businesses have access to the home-grown talent they need for the jobs of tomorrow and more people don’t need to leave their hometowns to get a good job.
Project Director of the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, Joanne Patrickson said,
“This funding will make a big difference to our colleges and in turn, the businesses and communities in West Yorkshire.
“Part of the funding will be a capital investment into equipment and machinery to allow our colleges to train the workforce in electric vehicle maintenance and retrofitting buildings.
“Colleges will be employing dedicated teams to work closely with businesses in the region to understand what help they need to become more sustainable, and the WYCC The Green Skills Service to help employers access the training and resources they need to take action.”
The £2.6m is contracted to be spent by 31 March 2023, but this initial investment will allow these new initiatives to establish and offer training that will prepare the workforce for a sustainable future.
Students from Leeds City College have created a ‘stunning’ sustainable fashion display for one of the city’s highest profile stores.
The striking window exhibit at John Lewis features clothes, and art pieces, that have all been created by Fashion and Textiles students out of previous garments or recycled materials.
The students produced the clothes through their Make an Impact Project which, as the text on the window display explains, is all about pursuing upcycling and sustainability in fashion.
That scheme received a major boost after refugee support charity Yorkshire Aid got in touch to offer some donated clothing that it had been unable to use.
The college then jumped at the chance to team up with John Lewis – and the students are now ‘buzzing’ at the results.
A SHOWCASE FOR CREATIVITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
Visual and Digital Arts teacher at the college’s Quarry Hill campus, Amelia Johnson, said: “The students’ brief was called Make an Impact, and they have done just that!
“They have been buzzing and are feeling very proud about seeing their work in the store’s windows on their walk into college.
“They are eager for more opportunities like this and it has clearly motivated them after what has been a very challenging time in their education.
“Some students also gained work experience through dressing the windows, and the John Lewis staff were very supportive while allowing them creative freedom.”
Leeds City College students outside their sustainable fashion display at John Lewis
Laura Prince, from the college’s Events team, said: “This has been a fantastic opportunity to showcase the Make an Impact project in our city’s John Lewis store, giving our textile learners the chance to both design and dress the windows.
“We are thankful to the John Lewis staff for helping and mentoring the learners during the window dressing, and for supporting their work from the offset. It has helped our students feel proud of their designs and accomplishments.”
Partner & Events and Marketing Coordinator at John Lewis Leeds, Natasha Whalley, was full of praise for the students’ efforts.
She said: “The team was really grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with Leeds City College and exhibit its Make an Impact Project.
“It was a pleasure working with the students and we hope the experience they had installing their work gave them a real insight into working in a live retail environment.
“They worked in a professional manner and contributed to the creative aspect of the installation, which ultimately resulted in a well executed window.
“The sustainability message ties in with our brand vision and has gained great feedback from our customers and partners. We are excited for future opportunities to collaborate with Leeds City College.”
Yorkshire Aid collects items to send to asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in need. For more information visit https://yorkshireaid.org/
Earlier this year, Keighley College teamed up with Camp America to offer up to 90 students across Luminate’s further education colleges a once-in-a-lifetime work experience opportunity in the United States over the summer.
The placements were offered through the Turing Scheme, a UK government programme for overseas study and work. The trip, designed to hone students’ employability skills as they look after and become role models to children at the camp, included travel, accommodation and living costs.
Keighley College’s principal, Kevin O’Hare, travelled out to see how the camp counsellors were getting on across the various sites they were sent to, what they were learning from their experiences and what their plans were following on from their placements.
His trip took him to Camp Laughing Waters in Gilbertsville, East Pennsylvania; Camp Herrlich on the border of New York state and Connecticut; and French Wood Sports & Art Camp in Hancock, NY. In each, he found the students who have taken advantage of the offer having the time of their lives.
Alongside teaching and sharing skills and knowledge with young campers, they have been making friends with the international cohort of camp counsellors and planning a number of subsequent adventures.
In a world in which, as it becomes more global, there can be seen a parallel stream of parochialism rising to the surface, making these connections with other cultures and people is an essential experience which we are proud to have been able to offer our students.
We have received £51m funding from the government to replace and upgrade some of our buildings.
The investment will ensure that we can create great spaces for our students so that they have access to modern, fit-for-purpose facilities.
Work will begin at Mabgate later this year and part of the expansion will include the development of new higher level technical and apprenticeship courses. There will also be a purpose built Adult education building, which will replace Leeds City College’s Enfield Centre.
As demand for student places continues to grow, the expansion programme for Mabgate will create much-needed community facilities and will add to the group’s portfolio of city centre bases.
The campus will also create space for University Centre Leeds and Leeds Conservatoire – bringing together the group’s further and higher education provisions.
There are also significant refurbishment plans for Park Lane Campus. Major works will also be carried out at Harrogate College and plans include the demolition of the old A block building, which will be replaced with a net zero, purpose-built building.
