Telford College has been formed from a merger between TCAT and New College Telford.
The move unites a curriculum built around academic, apprenticeships, vocational, part-time and university-level courses – onto one campus at Haybridge Road.
The college has courses and apprenticeships in 70 different industries and works closely with 416 companies including the Shropshire business community to reflect the needs of local employers.
Principal and chief executive Graham Guest says: “It continues to be an exciting time for the team. We are a growing college with growing applications and a bright future.”
Among the exciting new innovations are:
A series of new courses and apprenticeships to tackle skills gaps in the construction industry: including brickwork, basic construction and the built environment and linkups with local schools.
A £750,000 investment in a new and virtual and augmented reality suite.
The launch of a new 7th Form – the first of its kind in the UK – blending traditional A level courses with direct links to universities, working with industry mentors from local companies.
Mr Guest says: “Our positive relationship with businesses allows us to support companies with their levy and non-levy funding to create more apprenticeship opportunities in the region – with the college being above national targets.
“We’ve been working closely with the construction and engineering industry on initiatives to tackle skill shortages in the sector, including hosting a ‘Careers in Construction’ event which was a huge success.
“Large investments are being made into the facilities and the new virtual and augmented reality equipment will make us the leading college in the country for developing skills in virtual reality.
“We are set to improve our results last year and we’re looking forward to yet more progress over the coming 12 months. Our staff have been fantastic, it has been a team effort – there is superb work being carried out across the college.”
Ofsted inspectors highlighted in its most recent visit that ‘learners make good progress’ the college has ‘a positive impact on apprentices’ outcomes’ as well as commenting on ‘improvements in the quality of teaching’.
Graham Guest says: “We’ve never lost sight of the most important thing – our commitment to students, qualifications and skills built around the needs of local employers.”