Weston College is running a free event to help school leavers make decisions about their future.

‘What Next?’ will provide pupils in school years 10 and 11 – and their parents – with advice and information about qualifications, courses and career pathways.

They will get to speak to expert College staff and employers, and have a go at a range of work-related activities.

The event takes place from 5.30-7.30pm on Wednesday 2nd October at the Winter Gardens in Weston.

Ben Cocks, Assistant Director and the College’s Careers Leader, said: “Leaving school is a daunting time for young people and their parents. They are bombarded with a range of confusing terms and asked to make choices that will affect the rest of their lives.

“’What Next’? is designed to take the headache out of those decisions, and explain the confusing educational jargon and how it relates to them. With new qualifications such as T Levels being introduced, alongside exceedingly dynamic UK industry sectors, it’s important that young people know what skills, knowledge and behaviours will be needed to be successful in tomorrow’s job market’

“We wanted this to be different to your usual careers convention and really focus on giving people access to employers and industry experts. It’s a fantastic opportunity for young people who are leaving school in 2020 or 2021 as they’ll get to talk to knowledgeable staff and employers from all over the UK in a fun, friendly environment.”

The College’s expert careers team will be on hand to offer guidance on a range of work-related topics, including:

• Exploring career opportunities
• Weighing up options and making decisions
• Job hunting and applications
• CV writing
• Applying to university and student finance

School leavers will be able to meet a range of employers and experience the world of work, by having a go at some exciting industry demonstrations.

Those baffled by the range of subjects, qualifications and levels available at College, will have the opportunity to talk to lecturers about courses, levels and the grades they might need.

Click here for more information and to register your attendance

If you would like advice on qualifications or careers, call 01934 411 415 or email aspect@weston.ac.uk

In a time where timetables are packed out with lessons and supporting extra-curricular activities, lecturers time is more valuable than ever.

As we move further into a digital age, we’ve experienced a huge increase in the number of emails and repetitive digital communications that lecturers are having to deal with on a daily basis.

In response, we’ve teamed up with Purlos to co-design a digital assistant that will help to reduce the time spent answering repetitive questions from students.

Purlos’ mission is to drive efficiencies for academic institutions in order to focus on their students.

The purpose of this chat bot will be to answer personalised questions that learners send to lecturers over our secure sharepoint system: Microsoft Teams.

By pulling information from the internet, the state-of-the-art bot can answer questions where the answers are sometimes difficult and time consuming to find online.

Furthermore, the bot is particularly impressive when answering questions where the information is not online.

For instance, if someone asks “What time is our Maths lesson today?”, the bot will be able to send an automatic response based on the information that has been curated by the administrator.

This will therefore give learners a much faster response and save staff time by alleviating the need to respond to the same questions.

Additional benefits could also extend to distance learning where 1:1 contact is not often possible. This will enable more people to access the same help and information, whatever their circumstances. Approximately 100 students recently had the opportunity to have a trial run of the software.

Jon Hofgartner, Assistant Director in Technology Learning Resources Skills & Progression, added “Weston College offers a large range of services, support and resources for learners.

“Knowing how, when and where to access these when needed is where we feel a digital assistant can help our learners .

“This development aims to help learners find answers to common questions about their time at College as well as signpost key services.

“We’re also adding features to connect students with online videos from LinkedIn Learning to help them develop a range of skills and knowledge to give them the edge.”

The College’s library service beat off tough UK competition to scoop a Best National Practice Award for its unique level of technical support.

The Council for Learning Services in College (ColRiC) judges chose Weston College’s LibraryPlus-based and cost-free ‘TechGenius’ service for its service interaction.

Technology and Library Team Leader Jon Hofgartner said: “This is brilliant news. TechGenius was set up by Learning Technologist Louise Hutson with Foundation Degree Computing students gaining work experience by helping others with computer, tablet, laptop, PC and phone glitches.

“Around eight TechGeniuses rotate campuses offering general technical advice – from help setting up new phones to support with any computing device.”

Foundation Degree Computing student and TechGenius support Ryan Prescott, 20, of Ashcombe Road, Weston, said: “Weston College provided us with a great opportunity to work on a real help desk. We hope winning this award will bring more recognition to the TechGenius program and look forward to helping more people.”

Chair of CoLRiC, Margaret Phillips, said: “CoLRiC launched these awards as we are convinced there are many unsung heroes in Libraries making a truly magnificent difference to learners. We have been overwhelmed by the number and quality of the entries and the commitment given by staff to the service and their institutions.”

In the last three years the College’s Library Service has invested over £1 million and now has 22 staff.

Service Head of Executive Lead Quality and Learning, Claire Bushell, explained: “ Three years ago the college started from scratch to create state-of-the-art learning facilities on all campuses which are vibrant, office-free spaces where students study, discuss, think and create in a relaxed and welcoming environment.

“We have nearly 200 computers, laptops, tablets, cameras and Kindles and technologically-confident accessible staff who support students. There are also quiet spaces and times.

“It’s wonderful our students are integral to winning this national award. The feedback we get from library users is incredibly positive and it’s now a very valued resource.”

On April 28^th Jisc is set to hold a Learning Technology Forum at LibraryPlus on Knightstone’s campus.

It will be an opportunity for education professionals across the region to tap into the latest teaching and learning technology resources.

The College is also organising its first ever Technology Enhanced Learning Conference at Knightstone’s campus on July 9^th which is open to anyone in Secondary, Further and Higher Education.

Claire added: “The conference is an exciting first for us with a range of sessions from developing technology enhanced learning with social media and of course TechGenius.”