NWSLC Express January 2023

EXPRESS

MESSAGE

F RO M O U R P RI N CI PA L

“In 2022, NWSLC enjoyed a fantastic year of success as a WorldSkills Centre of Excellence and was delighted to lead the medal table for inclusive skills in the WorldSkills UK f inals in 2022. We are particularly proud of our success in this discipline which was originally conceived by NWSLC. Our college continues to grow through industry and commercial partnerships and the past year has seen us celebrate the launch of the Centre for Logistics Education and Research (CLEAR) at Magna Park in Lutterworth. The college has also made progress with its plans to launch an additional state-of-the-art campus in the town centre of Nuneaton which will host a new Digital Skills & Innovation Centre and training kitchens to serve a new restaurant and cafe. Student feedback is positive and encouraging with 84 per cent agreeing that they are developing the skills they need to progress with their next steps and into employment. Over 83 per cent of higher education students say that they are satisf ied with their college experience, a rating which is signif icantly higher than for all of our local competitors.

We help our students to develop a solid foundation for employment with a broad range of skills that provide them with the aptitude to join the workforce. We welcome all students, regardless of their starting point. There is a place for everyone at NWSLC and we support a high number of students for whom achieving their qualif ications has called on them to overcome signif icant odds. No matter where you are now in your learning or employment journey, the college will be able to support you with advice and guidance to take the next step We look forward to seeing you soon.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive, NWSLC

TEENTECH STEM FESTIVAL

The MIRA Technology Institute is looking forward to hosting another TeenTech STEM festival in January 2023 designed to inspire local pupils from Years 8 and 9 with career ideas in the field of science, technology, engineering and manufacturing.

Prior to the live event, pupils took part in a virtual session which set the scene and tasked them with a project to solve a real-world transport sector sustainability issue. Industry experts discussed how they are addressing sustainability within their businesses and pupils took part in interactive quizzes to help develop their ideas.

This year, industry experts supporting the event include Polestar, Wincanton, and HORIBA MIRA . Pupils will get the chance to develop their preprepared projects with support from our industry experts as well as attending interactive demos from companies across the STEM sector.

Marion Plant, OBE, FCGI

LEADING THE WORLDSKILLS UK MEDAL TABLE

F O R INC L U SIV E SKILL S

Students from NWSLC have been celebrating after they collected eleven medals at the national WorldSkills UK finals putting the college at the top of the table for inclusive skills in the UK . The medalwinning competitors discovered that they had won four Gold, six Silver and one Bronze medal as the results were announced by Steph McGovern from her Channel 4 ‘Packed Lunch’ studio.

Gold medal winners in the inclusive skills categories included hairdressing student Hemali Bordekar, who earned the top spot for her stunning festival hairstyle creation. Hemali is a self-employed hairdresser who is adding qualif ications to her portfolio at the college’s Wigston Campus. Also collecting a Gold medal was motor vehicle student Alex Dinca who joined the college from Nuneaton Academy, part of the Midland Academies Trust, to follow his enthusiasm for mechanics. In the catering category, Harry Forbes was awarded Gold for his skills in creating a menu of delicious street food, and Sam Hurst picked up the Gold medal for his highly imaginative Harry Potter-themed table setting. Silver medallists included Evan Ashburner, who joined the college from the Midland Academies Trust’s Hartshill Academy in Nuneaton. Evan won his medal after excelling in the motor vehicle skills challenge. Media students YouTuber Corey Hargrave and comic book enthusiast Evie Smith as well as Amber Stuart jointly won Silver medals in the creative media category. Lucy Gill was the joint winner of the Silver medal in the catering skills category In addition, apprentice Hattie Parnham who works for Ashby Decorator Centre Ltd, collected the Silver medal for painting and decorating in the Construction and Infrastructure skills category Briony Hancox, who wants to work as a f lorist when she completes her college qualif ications, won a Bronze medal for horticulture skills.

Twelve students from NWSLC travelled to Edinburgh College and Cardiff & Vale College to compete with 500 of their peers from all over the UK who tested their skills in over 60 competitions for the chance to win Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals.

Evie Smith

Alex Dinca

Hemali Bordekar

Sam Hurst

’FATH E R TE D’ A N D ‘RE D DWAR F’ DIR EC TO R L E ADS

MEDIA MASTERCLASS

Students on a media course at our Wigston Campus enjoyed hearing from renowned TV director Andy De Emmony as part of a directing masterclass. Andy has directed many high prof ile film and TV shows including ‘Father Ted’, ‘Spitting Image’ and ‘The Larkins’. During the masterclass, Andy directed the students, who are following a Level 3 media programme, in a scene from the ITV drama ‘Him’ during which they were required to learn a script and film their own performances. Students had the opportunity to ask Andy questions about his career and he was able to provide plenty of ‘behind the scenes’ insights into how the industry operates and the best way to start careers.

Andy said, “The television industry continues to expand in this new golden era of streamers, with more high-quality content than ever before. I feel it is important that we draw diverse talent and skills into the sector from across the UK. My aim is to show students the variety of jobs and opportunities that are available and the real possibilities of working in the television and film industry. It was great fun running a simple workshop with the students to demystify the process ”

MU SIC ALUMNU S

E ND O RSE D BY S CO P E CH ARI T Y FO R S O C IA L ENTER P RIS E

A former music student from NWSLC who went on to study at the University of Salford has secured support for a social enterprise that stages music gigs for people with sensory perception disorder, autism, and PTSD.

Singer Tuze Duzen, who studied at our Hinckley Campus, graduated from the University of Salford at the top of her class in 2022 with a f irst-class degree in popular music and recording. As part of her studies, Tuze worked with Oldham Youth Council and the Positive Steps charity to design a low sensory impact experience for live music lovers. The successful concept attracted the interest of disability equality charity Scope, which has pledged to support running events like these in the future.

Tuze said, “As students we were tasked with a project to give something back to the community and decided to focus on providing a positive experience of live music for people who struggle with loud noise, crowds, and bright lights.”

The successful concept attracted the interest of disability equality charity Scope, through its Youth Community Collective programme designed for 18–25-year-olds who want to create positive change for disabled people within the Greater Manchester community

Tuze Duzen

Andy De Emmony and NWSLC media students

AN E W ER A FO R LE AR NI N G I N

NUNEATON TOWN CENTRE

The launch of a Digital Skills and Innovation Centre and training restaurant the college in Nuneaton town centre has taken a step closer after planning permission was granted in January 2023. The new facility will be built within the former Co-op building in Abbey Street with an £8M investment from the government’s Towns Fund. Plans for the additional campus will be developed in liaison with Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, the My Town Nuneaton Board, Warwickshire County Council and the Transforming Nuneaton project on its next steps.

The new state-of-the-art centre, due to open in 2024, will help to regenerate skills and careers opportunities in the town, enable access to digital skills training, provide an incubation space for business start-ups It will also support the hospitality sector through a training kitchen that will serve a restaurant and cafe open to the public. The facility is expected to serve over 2,600 students over the next ten years, supporting 290 business start-ups and delivering value to the economy worth £13.4M

CREMATORIUM BENEFITS FROM STUDENTS’ HELP IN

UNIQUE COMMUNITY PROJECT

A group of NWSLC students are helping to maintain the memorial gardens at a Nuneaton crematorium as part of a project believed to be the first of its kind in the UK . The project was devised by college tutor Ian Lee after he became aware that the Heart of England Crematorium on Eastboro Way in Nuneaton required additional help to maintain the gardens and grounds of the facility. Ian agreed with the facility’s owners, Dignity, that the college’s foundation learning students would help the groundworks team to keep the planting, hedgerows, and trees tidy, and to clear any litter or debris from the memorial gardens and car park.

Ian said, “We worked closely with the crematorium team to plan and prepare before work started, including taking a detailed tour,

and participating in a health and safety induction. We addressed the sensitivity of the location with our students and spent a lot of time discussing respectful behaviour.” “This experience is teaching our students life skills as well as employability skills and teamwork, and they are developing emotional intelligence and conf idence. During the project, there have been lots of discussions about bereavement with many students sharing stories about family and friends that they have lost ”

Students at Heart of England Crematorium

LEADING CHEFS’ ASSOCIATION RECOGNISES

COLLEGE QUALITY

The catering and hospitality team at NWSLC has been described as ‘professional and committed’ and its students as ‘enthusiastic and passionate about their course’ by the UK’s leading chefs’ association.

The Craft Guild of Chefs provided its endorsement for the college following an assessment visit earlier this year Students prepared and served lunch to assessor David McKown, MBE FIH. On his tour of the college’s facilities, David commended the realistic working environment for students, the college’s strong links with industry and the team’s staff development activities.

David McKown said, “Having spoken to four students, who were all extremely enthusiastic about their course, I was surprised and pleased that three of them were interested in a front of house career This is great testament to the work done in delivering a rich learning programme in restaurant service. The students presented themselves as hospitality professionals and are highly motivated to do well and very positive in their outlook ”

NWSLC offers courses from entry level to Level 3 in professional cookery and front of house skills at its Nuneaton Campus and operates the Glebegate training restaurant which is open to the public during term time.

NWSLC catering team

CONGRATULATIONS!

CO LL EG E S U CCE SSFU L I

EXCELLENCE FOR RAGDALE HALL

Students and lecturers at NWSLC were celebrating following news that they have retained ‘College of Excellence’ status as part of a programme to support training run by wellness specialists Ragdale Hall Spa. The college has achieved this status by consistently providing qualif ied professional therapist candidates to Ragdale Hall Spa who have successfully secured employment after completing their studies with NWSLC.

Rachel Atkins, Beauty Therapy tutor at NWSLC said, “Our students regularly perform well in trade tests to secure work placements at Ragdale Hall Spa and demonstrate that they have the skills and the conf idence to make the leap into a professional, commercial setting. We have also been successful in the ‘Student of Excellence’ competitions in which previous students have secured top places.”

Lynne-Marie Benzie, Training and Development Supervisor at Ragdale Hall Spa said, “Congratulations to NWSLC on once again achieving of the ‘College of Excellence’ standard following our annual review process. This is a great achievement during challenging times, and I would like to thank the team for working with Ragdale Hall Spa and continuing to support your therapists through workshops and work experience with us ”

CO LL EG E A DM I TTE D TO

CHARTERED INSTITUTION

FO R F U RT H E R EDU CAT IO N

NWSLC is proud to have been formally admitted to the Chartered Institution for Further Education (CIFE), the only organisation in the UK with royal assent to provide chartered status to FE providers, at a ceremony in the City of London. Membership was conferred on the college by the Rt Hon The Lord Longfield Kt DL at the historic Hall of the Apothecaries’ Society in Blackfriars. The college was recognised earlier this year for the high quality of its further and higher education skills provision, achieved through multiple partnerships with stakeholders including the Coventry & Warwickshire LEP, the Leicester and Leicestershire LEP, Colleges West Midlands, the West Midlands Combined Authority and WorldSkills UK .

Receiving the Charter from Lord Lingf ield at the ceremony in December 2022, Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of NWSLC said, “Successfully achieving chartered status is a fantastic accolade for the college and we are proud to join the Institution. NWSLC has a long history of engagement with its local community, serving the skills requirements of employers and working with our partners to develop high standards of further and higher education across our region. Students and apprentices at NWSLC benef it from our extensive contacts with local, regional, and national employers, and professional and technical skills are embedded within our culture ”

Lord Lingfield and Marion Plant

APP R E NTICESHI P S

R STELLAR OPPORTUNITIES

Apprentice painter and decorator Hattie Parnham from Ashby Decorator Centre took time off from her current house painting role to test her skills in the finals of the WorldSkills UK 2022 – and came home with a Silver medal! Hattie travelled all the way to Scotland to take part in the two-day SkillBuild challenge delivered by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and hosted by Edinburgh College.

Hattie started developing her painting and decorating skills at our Wigston Campus and now works at locations across the Midlands painting houses as part of large housing developments.

Hattie, from Wigston, said, “I have an early start every day with my lift arriving to collect me at 7am No two days are the same and I enjoy the variety of tasks and locations, and the fast pace of the work. At the moment, I am helping to paint walls, ceilings, and woodwork in newly built houses. We usually work inside but I have been painting fencing outdoors recently. But I never get cold because the work is physical and keeps me warm! I always get a great sense of satisfaction at the end of a job when it is complete

“I work alongside experienced professionals and learn from them every step of the way. I really enjoy working for Ashby Decorator Centre and have grown in confidence so much since I joined the business I used to be shy and quiet, but I am very chatty now and I can talk to anyone.”

MULTIPLY YOUR SKILLS FOR WORK SUCCESS

We are offering a new range of free bespoke courses designed for employers to help their staff brush up on their numeracy and literacy skills in the workplace.

We can deliver custom workshops for groups of ten or more on the specific topics you want to address. Help your staff to build their maths and English skills and achieve qualifications including GCSEs. Get in touch to f ind out more by emailing marketing@nwslc.ac.uk

“I don’t usually meet many other women on construction sites but it’s a great career and I would recommend it to anyone. In the future I would eventually like to manage my own company.”

“I really enjoyed visiting Edinburgh College and getting some time to explore the city because I have never been to Scotland. Winning the Silver medal was a surprise, and I am very proud of my achievement.”

Hattie Parnham