York College & University Centre 2025-2030 Strategic Plan
Preparing OUR students, apprentices, AND COMMUNITY for brilliant futures
Our Strategic Commitment 01
Creating an environment where our students, apprentices, staff, and communities thrive
In an ever changing world, our biggest challenge is ensuring we are providing students and apprentices with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in their futures beyond their time at York College & University Centre. The UK (and more locally, York and North Yorkshire) continues to face significant demographic and skills shortages. York College & University Centre is the local leader of developing knowledge and skills education across our region. We have a pivotal role in meeting these challenges.
There remains a clear misalignment between the supply and demand for skills locally. Many employers in the area are struggling with skills shortages. As a College, we need to ensure we support employers to continue to thrive.
Our students and apprentices come to us more and more technologically savvy and we need to be at the cutting edge of new technologies as they emerge and prepare our staff, students, and apprentices for the potential impact technology will have on the physical, digital, and biological worlds. The way we shape the understanding and skills of our students and apprentices will have a potential impact on the future of work and life across York and North Yorkshire.
Whilst York College & University Centre remains highly committed to the ambitions of the City of York Skills and Employment Board, as well as the newly defined ambitions of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, we have also outlined our own ambition of being a very strong, sector leading college. Our collaborative work across the region, such as the Yorkshire and Humber Institute of Technology (YHIoT), the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), and the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), has cemented our position as the solution to the local and regional knowledge and skills needs.
The opportunities provided by the newly formed York and North Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority are exciting and I strongly believe this will support the ambitions we have at York College & University Centre. The geographical area we serve is significant, with around half of our students and apprentices commuting to the College from outside the City of York. Our role is to ensure that they thrive with us when studying and that they are brilliant in everything they do after they leave College. Our staff travel equal distances to get to work; our role is to ensure that they come to work in an environment that is supportive, challenging and enjoyable.
Our region provides people with some great opportunities. It is home to some world class higher education providers; the average earnings for residents are higher than the UK average; prior educational attainment is higher than the Yorkshire and Humber average; and unemployment is lower than the UK average, as is the proportion of people living in deprived areas. We have an opportunity to build on these great positives - and to give people the opportunities they need to mitigate the negatives - but we cannot achieve the impact we want to achieve by working in isolation.
Many of the employers we work closely with report significant skills shortages in technical areas, which will be compounded over the next 20 years as an increasing proportion of their workforce reach retirement age. This is particularly the case for STEM, Digital, Construction and Hospitality sectors. Together with our partners, we will create the workforce of the future and develop the skills that our community needs to be successful in an ever-competitive employment market. By focusing on enhancing our reputation for being the leading provider of the skills training demanded by employers, we will equip our students and apprentices with the specific skills needed to meet their career aspirations.
The 2025-2030 York College & University Centre Strategic Plan gives us the platform to ensure the communities we serve thrive. By working together across our region, we can ensure that York and North Yorkshire remains one of the best places in the country to live, study, and work.
Ken Merry Principal & Chief Executive
Our AMBITIOUS VISION 02
York College & University Centre has an ambitious vision for the future. By 2030 we will be:
The best 16-18 college in the Further Education sector.
The lead authority for skills in York & North Yorkshire and a true anchor institution.
A key influencer of national education policy.
An organisation proud of our sector, leading innovative and curious teaching and learning.
The Brilliance Plan 03
& UNIVERSITY CENTRE
Brilliance Plan
Our journey to be one of the best colleges in the country will not be completed by one simple action. To get to where we want to be, we will need to ensure that we are driving forward in many areas simultaneously.
From the Governors 04
IAN LOOKER, CHAIR OF GOVERNORS
The York College & University Centre Strategic Plan 2025-2030 sets out how we will prepare students and apprentices for “brilliant futures”.
It has been prepared through a long period of consultation where we have listened to the views of students, staff, governors and a range of our external partners. This process has been invaluable in understanding people’s priorities and refining the ideas that have gone into it. Thank you to all who have contributed.
It has also been informed by the context we are operating in. Our environment is changing quickly. New government priorities for skills, a renewed regional focus, technology changing the world of work and the need to respond to climate change, are just some of the factors that have helped shape the plan.
In response, we have placed the communities that we serve in York and North Yorkshire at the centre of our plans. By focusing on the needs of the region, we will be best placed to provide the skills that both students and employers need. In doing this, the plan sets out how we will provide:
• For students, a supportive environment, that will provide them with a full range of the academic, technical and employability skills they need for success in the future.
• For staff, a rewarding place to work where they too can develop.
• For employers, a commitment to providing the relevant, “work ready” skills that they need.
• For our other partners in the region, a commitment to collaborate and continue to develop how we work with you.
During the lifetime of this strategic plan, York College & University Centre will celebrate 200 years since it was established as the York Mechanics’ Institute in 1827. Since then, it has built a proud history of serving the people of York and North Yorkshire. This plan recognises that past and sets out how we will continue to evolve the College to provide “brilliant futures”.
Ian Looker Chair of Governors
05
Foreword by
James Farrar
Chief Executive of York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
The Strategic Plan outlined by York College & University Centre aligned perfectly with the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s goals. By focusing on providing high-quality education and skills training to communities across our region, York College & University Centre is not only preparing our future workforce for the challenges of tomorrow, but also attracting and keeping businesses in the region.
The synergy between the Combined Authority and York College & University Centre are clear and obvious. As a Combined Authority we want communities across York and North Yorkshire to thrive; we want to harness the abundance of talent in the region; we want to give everyone the opportunity to prosper. We also understand the vital role our colleges play in delivering these ambitions and are committed to strong sustainable partnership.
Nurturing and investing in people across the region are key parts of our economic framework for sustained growth across the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and is central to our approach to growing an inclusive economy and driving forward our ambition for our place.
We know from our growing partnership that York College & University Centre is a key partner in delivering our Economic Framework. In our plans there are three overarching ambitions:
• Deliver inclusive economic growth, so that the region is a global, innovative, productive economy with strong and thriving businesses.
• Increase opportunities for all, so that we see a thriving and inclusive economy across York and North Yorkshire.
• Transition to carbon negative, so that our entire region is a carbon negative, circular and more resilient economy. All our goals are underpinned by supporting and developing the skills of our local workforce. We are excited to continue working with York College & University Centre as the largest Further Education and Skills provider as a key strategic partner to our ambitions.
The Combined Authority delivering inclusive economic growth will be achieved by ensuring we improve productivity across the region, creating higher quality and higher paid employment opportunities, and increasing the skill level of workers across the region.
York College & University Centre is a committed member of our Employment and Skills Partnership and leads on many of the cross-regional education and skills projects, such as the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF), Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), and they are the lead education partner for the Yorkshire and Humber Institute of Technology (YHIoT). The College’s continued commitment to supporting the development and growth of skills across the region is what makes the biggest difference to local people and businesses.
At the Combined Authority we have placed healthy, thriving communities at the heart of our plans and believe that everyone, regardless of their background or starting point, should have access to opportunities and be able to benefit from a prosperous and vibrant local economy. York College & University Centre is strongly committed to social mobility, across the region and beyond. They do brilliant work with some of the most economically deprived areas of our society, and we want to see this work continue.
We also recognise our unique assets which underpin our ambition to become England’s first carbon negative region. Not only will this contribute to the global challenge around climate change, our capabilities provide new opportunities for business and residents across the region. We are really pleased to see York College & University Centre’s ambitious net zero pledge, and the clear commitment to equipping students with the skills to tackle environmental challenges in their future careers.
This is an exciting and optimistic time for York and North Yorkshire. We have confidence that York College & University Centre will deliver against their strategic plan, given their track record of success and dedication to brilliance. We look forward to strengthening our partnership with York College & University Centre to help build a bright future for all in York and North Yorkshire.
James Farrar
Chief
York College & University Centre Brilliant Futures Pledge 06
ENDORSED BY:
We recognise that having the opportunity to educate students and apprentices from across York and North Yorkshire is a great privilege. We do not take this for granted, nor do we think that it is given to the College lightly.
To ensure we give our students and apprentices all the tools they need, we have created the York College & University Centre Brilliant Futures Pledge. This pledge will ensure every student and apprentice has the opportunity to develop the key skills required by employers, to ensure they can enter the labour market or further study. Working closely with our employer partners, we will ensure that the skills developed by our students and apprentices are recognised through an accreditation framework that is transferable into work or further study and recognisable when making applications for employment or university.
Much of the knowledge, skills, and behaviours we pledge to support students and apprentices to develop whilst they are with us map across to the UNESCO Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) key competencies.
Students and apprentices will develop these skills in a variety of different ways throughout their time at College. It might be through their curriculum as they naturally occur, through their engagement in the personal and professional development part of their timetable, or through engaging in different extra-curricula activities across the College.
We pledge to provide students and apprentices with opportunities to develop the following skills:
Communication
Being able to relay messages and be persuasive about different points of view.
Collaboration and Teamwork
Being able to work with other people, whether you are friends with them or not, to ensure the end goals of the group are achieved.
Resilience
Being able to overcome challenges and not giving up when things get difficult.
Problem solving
Being able to overcome tricky situations and finding solutions to challenges.
Dependability
Being seen as someone who does what they say they are going to do and delivering on promises as expected.
Innovative and curious
Being able to think creatively when facing challenging situations and wanting to know more about how things operate or how what you are doing might make a difference.
Adaptable Self awareness
Being able to understand where your own strengths and weaknesses are, and what you need to do to maximise or minimise them.
Being able to cope well with change and continue to be successful in new environments.
York College:
Who
A regional college inspiring brilliant futures since 1827
Established in 1827 as York Mechanics’ Institute, York College & University Centre has been the centre of the local and regional skills landscape for nearly 200 years. The College remains integral to the development of the region.
York College & University Centre is a large, regional College serving a population across York and North Yorkshire of more one million people. Each year, we have approximately 4,000 school leavers, 1,000 apprentices, 2,000 adult students and 400 higher-level students studying with us. Our wide range of education options span entry level programmes through to degrees, higher technical qualifications and accredited professional courses, to courses for professional development. Our apprenticeships can be studied from Level 2 to Level 5 across a range of different career pathways.
We are the largest provider of A Level and Vocational programmes for school leavers in the region; we offer over 30 A Level subjects and over 80 Vocational courses, including a wide range of T Level pathways.
Colleagues across the College work tirelessly to create and develop partnerships that bring education and business together to better serve our communities. We offer the widest range of courses
in the region and combine expert teaching with industry standard, state-of-the-art facilities in one of York’s most modern and recognisable buildings. We offer a wide range of training programmes, from workforce development to supporting job seekers, and apprenticeships to workplace learning. We work with government, employers and partners to help thousands of people every year start or develop a career.
Our students and apprentices are at the heart of everything we do, and it is our role to support them to achieve their education and career goals, whether that is going into employment, progressing through their career, re-skilling or moving on to further or higher study. The College is recognised locally, regionally and nationally as an organisation that makes a positive difference to the lives of our students and apprentices, to our community, to our partner employers and to the York and North Yorkshire economy.
The College also provides a wide range of apprenticeships and works effectively with over 1,000 employers, helping them to recruit apprentices and provide bespoke training for their employees.
Regional context 08
A brilliant college meeting local and regional skills needs to actively support social mobility
We are strategically committed to serving our region - with limited ambition to stray from this geographical region, unless it directly complements the work we do in York and North Yorkshire.
Leaders of the College are highly successful at collaborating with partners to provide our local communities with the best possible opportunities. Leaders at the College recognise our unique position as a regional College and our strength as a convener of those who wish to see the region thrive. We take this role very seriously across all aspects of our work.
Working closely with our community and business partners, the College is focused on improving people’s employment options, supporting economic development and widening access to education, skills, and training. The College works closely with universities, employers, other providers and partners to ensure our students and apprentices have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and attributes they need to be successful in their next steps.
We play a central role in building a strong, vibrant and inclusive education offer by being fiercely ambitious for the region’s communities and economy, and by providing innovative solutions to the collective challenges we face across York and North Yorkshire. This approach presents an exciting future for our students and apprentices as well as the employers we work with. We will continue to meet the skills needs of existing new, and growing businesses in York and North Yorkshire.
Following the historic devolution deal for York and North Yorkshire, the newly elected Mayor of the region, and the incumbent government’s vocal view on the need for regional approaches to support national economic regeneration, it is safe to say that regionalisation is likely to remain high on the political agenda, particularly in relation to economic development and education. Partnership and collaboration will be key to our success. We will continue to work with partners to ensure that individuals succeed, communities thrive and the economy grows, through the delivery of professional, technical and vocational education, and making best use of the expertise and innovative approaches of our staff.
We will continue to support individuals and businesses to develop a greener economy by focussing on how we can all reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate the wider impact on the environment. Our growing range of provision in this
space, combined with the carbon literacy we will embed into all programmes, means our students and apprentices will be more aware of the impact they can have (both positively and negatively) on our environment and the steps they can take to support a more biodiverse world in the future.
Developments in digital technology continue to affect all sectors of the economy, requiring employers - as well as current and future employees - to adapt how they work. We play a critical role in supporting a digitally enhanced future by ensuring that all our staff, students and apprentices develop the skills to take advantage of opportunities.
As the world, UK, and York and North Yorkshire region continues to adapt to the questions posed by society and international conditions, there will be significant challenges for the individuals, communities and employers we serve to overcome. Our ability to be agile and responsive to these challenges will position us at the centre of economic recovery and inclusive growth for York, North Yorkshire and beyond.
York College’s Values 09
Our values guide us to do our very best, every day
York College & University Centre is guided by our core values of Ambition, Care, Respect and Success. These values underpin everything we do as a college to ensure that our staff enjoy working at the College and students receive the best possible educational experience.
Care Success Ambition Respect
They are as meaningful to staff as they are to students, apprentices and our community. We are proud to live by our values and welcome people across the College and our community to embrace them.
Our partnerships and awards 10
Our Employer Partners 11
Collaborating with over 1,000 employers to enrich student experiences, train apprentices and facilitate industry placements
Despite the rich, long history of high-quality, inspirational and thought-provoking education at York College & University Centre, there continues to be a need for leaders, staff and partners across the College to be ambitious for the future of the College and the communities we serve.
Our ambitious future will be underpinned by our strategic vision for the next five years. This will encapsulate our unrelenting focus on being a truly brilliant place to study and work, as well as our unrivalled commitment to supporting the local and regional economic development for the benefit of all.
The strategic vision for York College & University Centre will have statements of intent around our key stakeholders and influencers. We anticipate that these will be:
Students and Apprentices
Surroundings
Staff
Sustainability
Students and Apprentices 13
Students and Apprentices
York College & University Centre is the first choice for many students and apprentices across York and North Yorkshire. We achieve this by providing them with inspirational, engaging and impactful teaching, facilitating their learning in imaginative and creative ways and supporting them to achieve their qualifications. This is all underpinned by a rich and useful personal and professional development programme that means they leave the College well prepared for their next steps.
Aim: We will ensure students and apprentices are successful, progress to brilliant futures, achieve their full potential, and ensure that everyone feels like they belong at the College.
Intent statements
Throughout the duration of this strategic plan, leaders and staff across York College & University Centre will ensure that:
• The curriculum offered to students and apprentices directly aligns to the local and regional skills needs through careful evolution across all aspects of the College’s delivery.
• Students and apprentices are exposed to and develop their understanding of new and emerging technologies to enhance their careers prospects.
• The vast majority of students and apprentices achieve their qualifications whilst studying at the College.
• Students and apprentices enjoy their time studying with us, excel in their learning and progress to brilliant next steps.
• All students and apprentices benefit from the ‘York College & University Centre Brilliant Futures pledge’.
• The successes of students and apprentices (past and present) are celebrated widely.
Staff 14
Staff
We recognise that staff across the College are skilled, professional and committed people who have the skills and qualifications to work in more lucrative occupations, but positively choose to work at York College & University Centre for the difference they can make to the lives of students and apprentices. As a result, leaders are committed to ensuring that staff see their futures at the College, and they are provided with development opportunities whilst they work for the College.
Aim: We will create a culture where staff are happy, feel valued and develop their knowledge and skills so they can do a brilliant job.
Intent statements
Throughout the duration of this strategic plan, leaders across York College & University Centre will ensure that:
• Staff enjoy working at the College, feel valued and are happy at work.
• Staff have the opportunity to learn from their brilliant, experienced and skilled colleagues.
• Staff develop the knowledge and skills that they need to take the next steps in their career.
• Staff are able to see realistic progression routes internally (and externally) as they become available, and they will stand a strong chance of being shortlisted for roles they apply for.
• The College commits to working towards paying the Real Living Wage for our lowest paid staff (to be achieved by 2028).
• The successes of staff are celebrated widely and recognition is provided to those who are doing a brilliant job.
Surroundings 15
Surroundings
As a place-based organisation, York College & University Centre is reliant upon the communities and partners that we work with to ensure that we are able to meet local and regional needs. Our collaboration with partners is important to ensure we provide staff, students and apprentices with an insight into how the industries they are connected to are ever changing, and for our resources and teaching methods to continue to be future-ready and adaptable to local and regional needs.
Aim: We will become a key anchor institution across York and North Yorkshire by supporting our community to thrive.
Intent statements
Throughout the duration of this strategic plan, leaders and staff across York College & University Centre will ensure that:
• We continue to collaborate meaningfully with key partners and employers across York and North Yorkshire, reflecting the intelligence they provide us with into our curriculum design and delivery.
• We continue to reflect local and regional skills needs within our curriculum offer.
• We become closely aligned to the needs of the communities we serve and are seen as being a community resource that complements our educational intent.
• We have high quality resources that are reflective of industry standards and ensure modern methods of learning are facilitated.
Sustainability 16
Sustainability
The world is becoming increasingly fragile. It is the role of York College & University Centre to ensure that all our staff, students, apprentices and stakeholders are aware of what they can do to ensure the environmental damage created by humans can be mitigated and prevented moving forward.
Equally, the long-term future of the College needs to be preserved. This can only be achieved if the College is financially secure and if leaders make sensible, long-term decisions. This is the responsibility of all staff across the College, including the senior leaders.
Aim: We will ensure the future of the College is secure and that the world around us is a better place for our involvement.
Intent statements
Throughout the duration of this strategic plan, leaders and staff across York College & University Centre will ensure that:
• Carbon emissions produced by the College as a direct result of activities are reduced by 50% by 2030 (from 2022 baseline figures).
• The College supports the City of York carbon mission by ensuring an increasing range of green skill qualifications are offered through the College’s partnership work with employers for up-skilling existing employees.
• Carbon literacy is embedded across the curriculum offer to ensure that staff, students and apprentices are aware of the impact they have on their environment and what they can do to mitigate this.
• We will continue to invest in the digital infrastructure of the College to ensure staff, students and apprentices have the digital literacy needed to be successful in an ever-evolving employment landscape.
• The long-term financial health and long-term estates strategy of the College is enhanced by careful strategic financial planning.
Strategic Aims 17
The intent statements relating to students and apprentices, staff, surroundings and sustainability will be periodically measured against the Strategic Aims of York College & University Centre. This will happen at each level of the organisation.
Students and Apprentices
• 90% of qualifications started by students and apprentices are achieved.
• 95% of students and apprentices would recommend the College as a place to study.
• 70% of students and apprentices will achieve a high grade.
• 90% of students and apprentice progress to brilliant next steps.
• 100% of students and apprentices are well-prepared for life after College through the York College & University Centre Brilliant Futures Pledge.
Staff
• 90% of staff would recommend the College as a good place to work.
• 75% of staff will agree that they are well paid for the role that they do.
• 80% of staff will be happier (or as happy) year-on-year.
• 80% of staff will identify positive progression is available within the College or within their career as a result of working at the College.
• Leaders will ensure the background and heritage of staff is increasingly diverse whilst still ensuring that we appoint the best person for the role.
• The College will pay the Real Living Wage (RLW) to staff (by 2028 becoming a RLW employer).
• Staff turnover to be circa 12% annually.
Surroundings
• Identify at least 50 key partner employers that the College engages with in 2025. Add at least 15 to this number year-on-year.
• Continue to meet the local and regional skills needs by adding at least three new courses each year.
• Be closely aligned to the needs and desires of the communities we serve, including an increase in the use of College facilities by community groups.
• Ensure College resources remain high quality and aligned to industry standards, committing at least £10m of capital investment over the next five years.
Sustainability
• Reduce carbon emissions by 50% from 2022 baseline measurements.
• Carbon literacy is embedded in every course offered across the College (through personal and professional development and course materials).
• The number of green skills courses available at the College increases in line with demand to meet the City of York Carbon Mission (minimum of ten courses over the lifetime of this plan).
• Retain a minimum standard of good ESFA financial health.
• Maintain minimum cash balances of £4m and generate an annual cash surplus of at least 5% of operating income.
• Continue to invest in the digital infrastructure (minimum £3m investment).
