Three North East colleges have been chosen as part of a list of 20 colleges across the country which are joining WorldSkills UK Centre for Excellence.
Sunderland College, Middlesbrough College and East Durham College are set to join this project which is set to raise the bar for best practice. The centre has been set up to provide world-class standards for skills development. This has been facilitated by WorldSkills UK alongside NCFE who have provided £1.5 million to fund the project.
Zoe Lewis, Principal at Middlesbrough College said: “We’ve been selected through a very rigorous process to be part of the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence programme, one of only 20 colleges in the UK.
“This partnership will build on their strengths – enhancing teaching and curriculum innovation even further to give students a world-class skill set and mindset that will give them the edge in the jobs market and benefit their employers.
“The goal is to ultimately give employers a more highly qualified and performing young workforce which will support higher business productivity.
“Technical skills aligned to employers’ needs are a key specialism of Middlesbrough College and this partnership will keep us at the forefront of the sector.”
Judith Quinn the Deputy Principal at Sunderland College was particularly excited to have been chosen as part of this: “The opportunity to further advance excellence within the technical education for students and staff within our college and wider North East is even more important at this time and as we build up to deliver T-Levels from 2021.”
Suzanne Duncan, principal at East Durham College said: “East Durham College has always been an innovative institution; this extends to our students, who we delight to see enjoy great success in a range of competitions at the cutting edge of their respective fields. This partnership is an exciting new opportunity to help us further cultivate the skills and talents of our students all in the hope that they may continue achieving recognition, and use that as a springboard for further success in their future.”
The hope is that these partnerships will further enhance the level of education that the attendees of the college will receive to become more in line with the standards shown across the World which will raise the employability of those who are receiving this education.
