Partnering for Progress: Milton Keynes College and Local Employers
At Milton Keynes College Group, we believe that strong partnerships with employers are key to building a skilled, future-ready workforce. Working with over 1420 businesses across the region, we offer a wide range of opportunities for employers to engage with education. From apprenticeships and industry placements to bespoke training and curriculum development.
Whether you’re looking to recruit fresh talent, upskill your existing team, or shape the future of your industry, MK College provides flexible, high-quality support tailored to your needs. Our employer partners benefit from access to work-ready students, expert guidance, and a collaborative approach that helps businesses grow while supporting the wider economic development of Milton Keynes. Together, we’re delivering skills and boosting business whilst creating opportunities that make a lasting impact.
Anna Clarke Group Director: Employer Engagement & Partnerships
Introduction
A skilled workforce is the heart of every successful business. As a business, we are keen to work with you but knowing where to start can be tricky, especially with the education and skills landscape appearing so complicated.
There are a variety of ways to get involved, and we’re here to help you find the ones that make the most sense for your business. Whether you’re looking to connect with future talent or boost productivity by developing your current team, we’ll help you explore the options that work best for you.
Discover how your business can benefit from working with us
There are plenty of ways your business can get involved with us, whether you’re supporting young people at the start of their careers or helping your own employees build new skills or gain qualifications.
This brochure introduces the different opportunities available and highlights how technical education, like apprenticeships, T Levels, and Higher Technical Qualifications (HNCs/HNDs) can help meet your workforce needs.
From offering students hands-on experience, sharing your industry insights to help shape courses, to accessing training for new recruits and existing staff, it’s all about finding the right fit for your business.
Education & Skills
The Benefits for Employers
Make a Positive Impact in Your Community
Partnering with us is a great way to support your organisation’s social responsibility and strengthen your reputation. Your real-world input helps bring learning to life, giving students a clearer sense of how their studies connect to the world of work.
It’s also a chance to inspire and support young people, making a difference that benefits them, your community, and your business. Milton Keynes College Group is fully reflective of our diverse community and we strive to invest in young people’s lives before they even come to study with us.
Fresh Ideas, New Energy, Real Impact
Partnering with us gives your business access to a wide mix of young people and professionals, bringing fresh perspectives that can spark innovation and help build a more inclusive and dynamic workplace. These new voices can introduce emerging trends, fresh thinking, and help you connect with new audiences. Placement students and apprentices also quickly pick up valuable skills and often make a real impact on your team from the moment they join.
Spot Future Talent and Build a Stronger Workforce
Getting involved with Milton Keynes College is a great way to connect with potential future employees who are a natural fit for your organisation. Over time, this can help reduce the cost and effort of recruitment, build a reliable pipeline for hard-to-fill roles, and support your long-term plans for growth, succession, and workforce development.
Staff Development
Getting your employees involved in college and student life as mentors is a great way to support their professional development, helping them build leadership and management skills.
It can also boost well-being, strengthen team morale, and increase loyalty to your organisation. Plus, partnering with us can create opportunities for technical training to help upskill your existing staff including short courses, professional qualifications or interests and hobby courses.
Create Real Value Through Collaboration
Working with us offers a genuine two-way relationship. We work with you to gain a deep understanding of your business and pain points, while you have the chance to help shape the skills being taught locally. We have created employer sector forums to hear your views, brainstorm and collaborate.
It’s also a great way to build your own knowledge, especially around new developments like emerging technologies and to show the wider contribution your business makes to the local community and beyond.
Education & Skills Ways to get involved
Inspire Future Talent and Shape Career Journeys
Much of your future workforce is in education and your knowledge, experience, and advice can make a big difference. By sharing your insights, you can help young people to feel more confident about their career choices and guide them towards roles that are right for them and right for your business.
From giving a careers talk in a classroom to offering one-to-one mentoring over a longer period, it’s a rewarding way to support the next generation while building meaningful connections.
Share Your Expertise and Shape Future Skills
Sharing your knowledge and expertise with our students and contributing to classroom discussions gives you the ability to support the range of skills being taught.
There are lots of ways to get involved; helping design a course, supporting a student project, hosting a site visit to show current industry practices, teaching a masterclass, or even donating equipment or workshop time. It’s a great way to give back, while helping shape the future workforce.
Open Your Doors to Future Talent
There’s nothing quite like hands-on experience to help young people understand working life and your business can benefit too. Welcoming students into your workplace is a great way to raise awareness of your organisation and industry, while helping them to take their first steps into the world of work.
It’s also a chance to spot future talent. Activities can include short workplace visits or longer-term industry placements, giving students valuable insight and giving you the opportunity to connect with potential future employees.
Use Your Expertise to Shape Education
Nobody knows your business like you do and sharing your insights with us can help make sure what’s being taught is relevant to your industry.
You could get involved by becoming a college governor, or by joining an employer panel that helps shape technical education at a local level. It’s a great way to influence future skills and show your commitment to supporting education and your local community.
Work-based learning
Helping someone learn while they work in your business is a powerful way to build a skilled, motivated, and qualified team member. Apprenticeships, for example, combine employment with formal study, giving apprentices the chance to develop knowledge, skills and behaviours while contributing to your business.
Education & Skills Technical Education
Apprentices
Apprentices are employed and learn through workplace/onsite experience and college training. An apprentice develops the knowledge, skills and behaviours set out in the employer designed standard for their occupation. They are assessed against this standard so employers can be sure individuals can do the job required. Most apprentices train in the workplace or onsite, often working with a mentor, with the additional college training provided by us. Depending on the occupation, an apprenticeship can take between one and four years to complete.
Employers
Higher Technical Qualifications (HNCs/HNDs)
Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) are specialised post-18 training at Levels 4 and 5 (A Levels and T Levels are at Level 3).
They were created as an alternative to degrees and apprenticeships and have been developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers so students can develop the skills that employers want.
Employers
Employers play a key role in shaping technical education. Groups of employers set the standards for different occupations to ensure that what’s taught reflects the real skills needed in the workplace. Each occupational standard outlines what someone should know and be able to do in a specific role. These are developed with input from panels of employer experts, helping keep education relevant, up to date, and aligned with industry needs.
Employers
T Levels
T Levels offer students a mixture of classroom learning and workplace/onsite experience during an industry placement. The content of T Levels has been developed with employers, using the occupational standards as their reference. Alongside their technical knowledge, T Level students also build maths, English and digital skills. So you can be sure that these qualifications are relevant to your business and prepare students for further training (including Higher Education or apprenticeships) or a job offer!
About us
At Milton Keynes College Group, we’re proud to welcome learners of all levels – delivering exceptional education in all of our sectors. We offer a full range of qualifications, study programmes, apprenticeships and Higher Education to full and part-time students, and employability and key skills training programmes to local community learning centres. We’re also one of the largest providers of prison education. We know that education has the power to create equal opportunities and to deliver Fairer Futures that lead to an inclusive society for all.
“Our partnership with Milton Keynes College is driven by a shared passion for community connection and opportunity. Together, we’re committed to opening doors for everyone — from school leavers to career changers — while supporting the College’s evolution as a dynamic, inclusive provider.”
Natalie Gibbings, Head of Talent Acquisition
How Cerulean is bridging the engineering skills gap through partnership with MK College
Faced with an ageing workforce and increasing recruitment challenges, Cerulean is tackling the skills gap head-on. Through a long-term partnership with MK College, the company has embedded apprenticeships and now T Level industry placements into its workforce strategy – and is already seeing the benefits.
Based in Milton Keynes, Cerulean is a manufacturing company that supplies precision test and measurement equipment for the tobacco industry.
Claire Millsop, HR Business Partner, explains that the company has worked closely with MK College for several years, particularly in the recruitment and training of apprentices, to help address the engineering skills gap.
“We started off with apprentices. Over the last eight years, they’ve been key to our business, especially in the last five, where we’ve really focused on it. We became part of the 5% Club because we felt it was important to show our commitment to ‘earn while you learn’ schemes. This was in direct response to the reality we were facing – an ageing workforce in engineering. The average age of our engineers was 50, and it was getting harder to find the right skills externally. So, we realised we needed to invest heavily in apprenticeships. We began in engineering and have since expanded into marketing, finance, and IT.”
The company recently extended its support to include T Level industry placements, although this wasn’t originally part of the plan.
“We’re part of the MAKE UK federation and take part in events like Manufacturing Day. We decided to open our doors to students from MK College to show them what we do. One of the attendees, Abdul, approached us afterwards to ask about a T Level placement. To be honest, we had initially rejected the idea of taking T Level students. We thought it was impractical to have someone come in just one day a week. But we liked him, he presented himself well, and we knew what he could do. So we decided to give him an opportunity.”
The experience turned out to be overwhelmingly positive. “T Levels are a great opportunity to bring in young professionals. If you can, then go on to offer an apprenticeship at a higher level, like Level 4, it’s definitely worth considering. We’re hoping to keep Abdul on. He’s fitted in incredibly well and has been a real pleasure to have on the team. I’ve heard nothing but praise about him. One of the big differences with T Levels is the academic standard. It’s noticeably strong.”
Beyond recruitment, the partnership also supports the company’s wider community values.
“For us, as an employer, it’s important to give back to the community. The partnership with MK College gives us the chance to do that – whether it’s through attending careers events or helping students understand the kinds of careers we offer. We really value having that relationship with a local education organisation.”
When asked what advice she would give to other employers, Claire said: “I think it’s essential to give the College the chance to really understand your business. We always invite people in to look around, meet key stakeholders, and get to grips with the skills we’re looking for. I highly recommend investing that time. It enables a much more successful recruitment and training process in the long term. It has to be a long-term relationship; it can’t be a quick fix. If you take that approach, you’re missing the bigger picture.”
How Ground Construction is supporting young talent
With a long-standing commitment to apprenticeships, Ground Construction Ltd is now embracing T Levels to give young people an early insight into the construction industry and strengthen the future of the sector.
Founded more than 27 years ago, Ground Construction Ltd is a specialist in groundworks, civil engineering, and concrete frames, based in Welwyn Garden City. Sooren Chinnappa, Director of Engineering, explains that the company’s partnership with MK College is a relatively new initiative, but one that’s already proving valuable.
“We’ve always had a regular apprenticeship programme in place, but the launch of T Levels in Construction at high school senior level offered us a great opportunity to welcome young adults into the workplace even earlier,” said Sooren. “We’ve had a student with us for 10 months now, and we’re getting really good feedback from the College. It’s something we’d like to expand.”
In addition to hosting a student placement, the company has supported the College in other ways. “We have a precast plant in Luton where we can offer live demonstrations of full-scale concrete works in a controlled, lower-risk environment. The College has taken us up on this with future planned visits, and we’ve also hosted them at our head office for a comprehensive tour.”
The relationship is already off to a strong start. “So far, our engagement has been very positive,” said Sooren. “The College’s remit – to better prepare young people for industry and help them understand what’s out there – really aligns with our values. Their curriculum is holistic, and we were impressed by their facilities, labs, and access to resources. They’ve created a space that really appeals to young minds, keeping things engaging and relevant.”
For Ground Construction Ltd, investing in the next generation is part of the company’s DNA.
“The construction industry has always had a skills shortage. T Levels are a brilliant way to get young people interested early. Work placements teach so many life skills – it’s important that students know what to expect and are better prepared when they enter the workplace.
“Growth and development are core values for us, and we’re proud of our social responsibility. Supporting and encouraging students to join the industry helps promote who we are, futureproofs our workforce, and is part of our succession planning.”
On the support from the College, Sooren said: “We’re pleased with how structured the process is. Monitoring of progress is strong, and communication has been great. The placement advisers carried out a full HSE assessment, and we’ve had regular check-ins to evaluate how things are going.”
When asked what advice they’d give to other employers, Sooren said: “Make sure you have a proper structure and development pathway in place. Maintain ongoing dialogue with the College. T Level programmes depend on employers offering placements. If we want to secure the future of our industry, we need to invest in young people at an even earlier age and this is one of the best ways to nurture that talent. It’s a question that answers itself and enhances our succession plan for the industry”.
BSH champions T Level placements to help students become ‘work-ready’
Gemma Ford, Learning and Development Manager at BSH, says that offering T Level industry placements to engineering students through MK College is a key way to help young people prepare for the world of work.
The company, which has its UK headquarters in Milton Keynes, is responsible for sales and marketing across the UK and the Republic of Ireland for home appliance brands such as Bosch, Siemens and Neff.
Gemma explains that the company has worked with MK College for many years through its apprenticeship programme but was introduced to T Levels more recently.
“For students going into the workplace for the first time, it can be quite daunting,” she said. “Offering a T Level industry placement helps make it feel less scary. It’s a huge leap to go from school into the workplace, but by doing a T Level – having that day a week in the workplace – students are set up really positively for the future. They get a real sense of what their chosen career will be like.”
On why they chose to partner with MK College, Gemma said: “Our head office is in Milton Keynes so it makes perfect sense to work with the College. We’ve built a great relationship – they’re always our first point of call. The college is local, so students can access face-to-face training, which provides a better learning environment for them.”
Talking about the College’s experience of supporting employers, she added: “I find everyone at the College easy to work with. We have regular catch-ups every six to eight weeks, and the support has been excellent. Our managers receive regular updates, and I’m also kept informed about how the students are progressing. If I ever have a question, I can just send an email and I always get a quick response. They’re really helpful.”
When asked what advice she would give to other employers considering offering T Level placements, Gemma said: “I’d say we went into it with the mindset of ‘let’s give it a go’ and see how it works. A good starting point is simply getting a student in – let them shadow your team, just get them through the door. Sometimes all a student needs at the beginning is to know where the café is! The basics really matter at first – and from there, it’s easy to build up their confidence and experience.”
The Education Landscape
• Colleges • Institutes of Technology
• Universities
• Private training providers
Colleges
School sixth-forms • Private Training providers
Summary
Colleges and universities offer a range of courses for adults, from short technical programmes to full degrees and advanced qualifications. These include things like apprenticeships, foundation degrees, and postgraduate study. Adults can also take other types of courses to build their skills, such as basic education or more specialised training.
Young people can study full-time at a college or school after age 16, choosing options like Apprenticeships, T Levels, Study programmes or A Levels.
Education or training is compulsory until the age of 18 in England.
Secondary school starts at age 11 and continues until age 16. During this time, students usually take GCSEs or other practical courses known as technical qualifications. These can include BTECs, Cambridge Nationals, or other vocational subjects that help students develop skills for specific jobs or industries.
Primary schools teach children aged 4 to 11. They learn basic skills like reading, writing, maths, and science, along with other subjects. The focus is on building strong foundations for learning and helping children develop socially and emotionally.
Notes
Notes
employerteam@mkcollege.ac.uk
mkcollege.ac.uk/employers
Chaffron Way Campus
Woughton Campus West
Leadenhall
Milton Keynes
MK6 5LP
Tel: 01908 684444
Bletchley Campus
Sherwood Drive
Bletchley
Milton Keynes
MK3 6DR
Tel: 01908 637200
@MKCollege
Facebook.com/mkcollege
Instagram.com/mkcollege
LinkedIn\ Milton Keynes College Group info@mkcollege.ac.uk