Annual Public Meeting 2005

In 2003-04 we met the learning need of 12,048 students. 9,027 studied part-time, balancing study with work and family commitments. Over 5 thousand learners, that’s 45% of our learners, came from economically and socially deprived areas affirming our growing capability to reach out and widen participation.

You can see we had a number of 14 and 15 year olds – nearly 400 – following level 1 or level 2 vocational courses at the College. This reflects the successful partnerships with the local education authority and its high schools to meet the needs and interests of a wider range of youngsters.

Women are continuing to steal a march ahead in the uptake of education and training in this part of Yorkshire, with females accounting for 56% of the student population in 2003-04.

2003-04 saw the College become the lead contractor for entry-to-employment training programmes across the Wakefield District. e2e provides a flexible programme at entry level and level 1 for 16 year olds with few, if any, qualifications and no particular career path. We have developed new provision and worked with six partners across the District to implement an innovative programme. Over 400 young people benefited from the programme.

We maintained a broad curriculum offer spanning from basic skills through to professional and higher level qualifications – a distribution that reflects the needs and demands of learners and clients in the Wakefield District.

The biggest accolade a college can get is the ongoing success of its students and in 2003-04 we had an abundance of successes to celebrate – exam results were stunning, on both academic and vocational programmes.

But, it is far, far more than qualifications and awards that students gain during their time at the College. Indeed through our international partnerships many of our students have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to work or study abroad. Last year 315 students undertook educational visits in mainland Europe. A fortunate 79 were supported to take up work experience placements in exotic destinations including Spain, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Malta, France and the Czech Republic.

The College was the initiator, and became the lead partner, of an important pan-Europe project – to improve the numeracy skills of young vocational students. With partners in Greece, Lithuania, Sweden, Germany and Finland new assessment and learning materials are being developed that will greatly enhance achievement and make learning maths even more enjoyable.

College staff visited China, Thailand and more recently Vietnam in pursuit of our international objectives. In September 2004 we welcomed our first group of students from China who are studying hard and progressing well on their ‘A’ level studies.

In 2003-04, the College continued to develop its presence as the preferred training provider for local businesses. We delivered short courses and customised training for some 200 employers. A further 500 plus companies sponsored their employees to study part-time at the College.

But we’ve had successes, tremendous successes through innovative interventions.
The ‘Graduate Opportunities’ helps Wakefield small and medium sized enterprises to attract and retain graduate skills within the company and within Wakefield. 32 graduates were successfully placed in 26 companies. Management training was provided for each graduate and one member of the company’s Senior Management Team.

The Learning Advocates programme helped small and medium sized enterprises develop skills in identifying and meeting training needs, both at an organisational and individual level. A stunning 78 learning advocates were successfully trained. And, as they say, success breeds success, the Learning and Skills Development Agency commissioned the College to develop a ‘best practice guide’ to help companies evaluate training. This guide is now being piloted.

The Yorkshire Leadership programme launched with a conference in April 2004 regularly draws up to 130 participants. The programme is designed to bring businesses, faith groups, voluntary and community bodies and public sector organisations into a forum to explore and develop the kind of leadership that will put Yorkshire at the forefront of leadership excellence.

Many of the miners who were made redundant as a result of the Selby Mines closure live in the Wakefield District. We sourced funding through the Learning and Skills Council to retrain 302 miners who gained 351 qualifications, enabling them to seek and secure work in alternative industries.

At Wakefield College we recognise that we can more effectively increase participation, and widen participation in education and training by working in partnership with other key agencies – public, private and voluntary sector bodies – for the betterment of our communities. What we have achieved over the past eighteen months and our plans for the future depend on working collaboratively with others, on partnership ventures – with the LEA, the local High Schools, other training providers, local universities, and of course the LSC.

Our partnerships are wide-ranging as you can see:

Wakefield College is committed to the Government’s 14-19 agenda and plays a key strategic and operational role in providing programmes for school children aged 14 to 16. Working through the 3 Learning Communities we welcomed over 2,800 school students to the College last year. What do they all do, you may wonder!

Over 300 studied for vocational qualifications in Catering, Motor Vehicle Maintenance, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Information Communication Technologies, Leisure and Tourism, Hairdressing and Beauty Therapy, Childcare, Bricklaying, Plumbing, Joinery, Animal Care and Sport.

And the others? Some took part in Discovery Days which, as the name suggests, are about discovering what life is like on a college campus.

Taster sessions give Year 10 pupils hands-on experience of vocational areas.
Master classes are designed to provide new challenges for Year 9 to Year 11 gifted and talented pupils.

And our highly successful early college transfer programme, run in partnership with Wakefield Local Education Authority, annually sees some 60 plus disaffected 15 year olds transfer from schools to study full-time at the College.
In our fast moving world of further and higher education it seems that the only constant is change!

The College has a transformational mission and a vision for state-of–the-art learning facilities for all of our students. Our property strategy describes a 50 million pound plus investment in flagship new buildings to raise aspirations, meet the skills needs and boost the local economy. We plan to move to a two campus college, one campus in the North East of the District at Glasshoughton and a second campus in Wakefield City on a new site. We are developing our plans in partnership with other organisations, so that we can maximise the benefits of our strengths for the community. One thing is for certain we will continue to proactively respond as a College, with a vision for the future that is one of excellence and dynamism. Highlighting our specialisms, firmly locating the core of our work in the District for the people and communities of Wakefield, we are here to ensure a significant contribution to the social and economic renewal of our area, to build prosperity, develop skills for employability and extend education and training to all who can benefit.

ENDS