As part of the investment from the Department for Education, Weston College has opened a £650k brand-new facility, dedicated to welding, at their South West Skills Campus. The funding has been made available through the College being the lead partner on the West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT).

The development of the new welding facility has been in response to the growing demand from employers both locally and regionally for apprentices to train in welding and fabrication; as well as local adults wanting to upskill in an area that has seen an increased demand in the local region.

As part of its commitment to sustainability and cost reduction, the centre also includes a ‘virtual welder’ simulation which allows students to learn basic techniques without wasting gases or metals as part of the initial training, reducing costs and waste.

There are a real range of courses and apprenticeships available in the new building, from introductory short courses for adults, from Level 1, 2 and 3 courses for people entering the industry and expanding their knowledge and skills.

Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, said: “This new centre shows our commitment to local employers, by creating a training facility that meets the demand of industry.

“It is a really exciting facility, as we will offering training not only for the traditional 16-19 year old courses, but also an offer for adults through evening courses and also from September on a Saturday, to support the retraining and upskilling of the local community.

“We also work with engineering and aerospace companies across the region, to provide them with apprentices, and this new facility offers apprentices the opportunity to complete welding training across each of the key welding processes of MIG, TIG and MMA welding.”

If you’re aged 16-19, you can find Weston College’s engineering courses, here.

If you’re an adult and want to upskill or retrain, you can find the Welding Skills Introduction course, here.

Weston College is launching its Career Excellence Hubs as a unique mechanism to align its curriculum to the ethos of the White Paper Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth.

Following months of strategic work on the ground, an innovative ten-point Career Excellence Hub Charter (click here to view the Charter) ensuring that each faculty is committed to aligning its curriculum to the needs of employers, (there are fourteen collective sector hubs all signed up to the Charter), it also offers the very best support in well-being, inclusive practice/SEND and digital with an ambitious vison linking to WorldSkills UK - to raise aspirations of learners regardless of their starting point in life.

Weston College Principal and Chief Executive Dr Paul Phillips CBE commented:

“We are really proud of our Careers Excellence Hub model which is designed to elevate our already established ethos of ‘real world learning’. The work represents a holistic approach, that has been very much done in consultation with employers.

“I am determined to raise career aspirations post pandemic for all our learners, and the challenge for all Colleges in relation to the White Paper, is to ensure consistency of approach across all their provision and at all levels. We feel that our Careers Excellence Hub Charter will not only cement our vision with employers, it will also cement our inclusive values for our learners - making aspirational careers a reality for all our learners regardless of their starting point in life.”

The Charter represents a ten-point plan that is designed to bring all Weston College staff together on an ambitious journey for global teaching excellence.

It has been designed to connect all of the College’s values, including those as one of three National Centres for Excellence in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), plus impressive progress to create an education based mental health support model. The Charter also embeds the College’s digital innovation as a Microsoft Showcase College and links to their aspirational work as the West of England Institute of Technology (IoT) lead, in bridging the higher skills technical skills gaps to the region. The ethos of the Charter will also transcend across the College’s work as a lead prison educator.

Dr Phillips commented further:

“We believe our Careers Excellence Hub model offers significant progress against the White Paper and offers a chance to seamlessly link with the AoC Career Hub resources developed in partnership with the Careers & Enterprise Company - providing a strong College/Community ‘anchor’ model that all Colleges can aspire to in terms of linking into localised Career Hubs and driving careers best practice across the UK.”

Andrew Webster Education Sector Manager at the Careers & Enterprise Company added:

“It has been inspiring to work with the team at Weston College – they are at the forefront of innovation in career education, advice and guidance. The development of their Careers Excellence Hubs is just one shining example of how they are supporting their students to take their best next step out of education and into the wider world.

“The team at Weston College don’t just work on one off projects about careers and the world of work, they work strategically, embedding information and examples about careers into so much of what they do. All of this means their young people are as well prepared as possible to take on the future.”

To view the launch video click here.

On Thursday, Weston College was announced as finalist in the Promoting Apprenticeship Campaign of the Year category, at the 2021 AAC Apprenticeship Awards.

The AAC Apprenticeship Awards is supported by FE Week and AELP, and celebrates apprenticeships across the UK.

Weston College was commended for its partnership with the FA and AoC Sport, to create and promote the FA Women’s Football Apprenticeship Programme, which has the aim of increasing female participation in football.

With apprenticeship vacancies going live in August, it proved popular, with 146 applications, for just 10 vacancies. The apprenticeship itself has had some fantastic backing, with football clubs across the UK endorsing the programme, to encourage more females to get involved with football.

The ever-popular awards received over 350 nominations for the 21 categories this year, with the judges praising the innovation and tenacity of apprenticeship providers.

The award ceremony is taking place at a gala dinner in Birmingham, on the 8th July.

If you're interested in becoming an apprentice, you can discover our current vacancies, here.