Weston College has a wide range of courses to suit all learning styles
Weston College is an award-winning college of further and higher education in Weston-super-Mare. It provides education and vocational training to nearly 30,000 learners across the country.
We put the learner first and are entrepreneurial in our approach and innovative in our thinking. As a college, we are ambitious and aspirational and are responsive to the needs of students, staff, businesses, and the community.
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If you’re involved in the construction industry, there’s a good chance you’ve read or heard about our new Construction Training Centre.
If not, you may have caught sight of the scaffolding training ‘hangar’, which looms over you as you enter Weston from junction 21 of the M5.
So, with the opening day pencilled in for later in spring, it’s a timely opportunity to provide more detail about the facilities and the training that’ll be available.
First the basics.
The Construction Training Centre is Weston College’s new facility which will help tackle the growing skills shortage in the construction industry.
This project has enabled partnership work with Somax Ltd, who specialise in driver training across the South West. Somax will bring a wealth of industry experience and will deliver commercial short courses at the Centre.
As I’ve mentioned, it’s conveniently situated just off junction 21, and will mainly provide training at the point of need for businesses, their employees and private individuals.
The external and structural aspects of the buildings are virtually completed – and they’re hugely impressive; each facility purpose-built to deliver training in a specific area of the industry.
The West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), have match-funded the project with some £3.3m through the Local Growth Fund, administered by the West of England Combined Authority.
The centre will essentially provide training in five key industry areas:
1 Plant operations
This will take place in a 1.5-acre area and include training in the use of construction vehicles such as 360° excavators, dumpers and telescopics.
2 Street and groundworks
This space will deal with preparing sites for grounds work. We’ll provide training for cutting into tarmac, laying foundations and pipework, installing drainage, coning off highways and setting up temporary traffic lights.
3 Scaffolding
The scaffolding ‘hangar’ is a 10 metres high by 40 meters long, and will share the building with forklift training.
As part of this initiative Weston College has partnered with scaffolding training and safety experts, Simian.
The most popular training in this area is likely to include the CISRS (Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme) Operative Training Scheme. More commonly known as COTS, this is a one-day course for people who are new to scaffolding.
After ‘COTS’ construction workers can progress to the CISRS Basic Access System Erector (BASE) training, and advanced personnel could move to the three-day CISRS Experienced Worker (EWPA) course.
4 Forklifting
A third of the scaffolding ‘hangar’ will be dedicated to warehouse-related training – such as counterbalance and reach truck forklift courses.
5 Logistics
The centre will also include a large tarmacked area where people will learn how to manoeuvre lorries, large passenger vehicles and cars with trailers. DVSA tests will be conducted from the centre and we expect the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) – a qualification for professional bus, coach and lorry drivers – to be popular classroom course along with ADR and Operators CPC.
We’ll also provide the standard health and safety training courses that everyone working on a construction site needs – including the H&S Awareness and CSCS Labourer Card. Personnel can then progress and specialise in the industry area they work in.
As well as the ‘practical’ training areas and equipment, the centre will include everything else you’d expect of a modern, state-of-the-art educational facility.
This includes a canteen, changing facilities, a reception area, staff offices, an IT suite, test and exam rooms, and up to seven classrooms. In fact the classrooms can be partitioned or opened out depending on what’s required – whether it’s a standard teaching session, meeting or mini-conference.
So, what’s left to be done?
Once the external building structures have been completed, we’ll focus on the internal aspects, such as fit-out and aesthetics.
The awarding bodies will then visit the centre to approve them for the training. After this, it’ll be a case of converting the extensive commercial interest we’ve received into bookings for the training.
Towards the end of last year, we held a series of ‘employer forum events’ to make sure we were on track to deliver the skills industry requires, and reactions to the centre plans were overwhelmingly positive, with employers genuinely impressed and excited about what the centre will offer their businesses and staff.
We’ve got an awful lot done in a short space of time, and we’re in the final straight. It’s now all systems go to get the doors open for business! If you’d like to get in touch to find out more please drop me an email or give me a call - simon.werkshagen@weston.ac.uk or 01934 421266.
For more information on the Construction Training Centre, click here.
Weston College is one of just 14 providers in the UK to be recognised as a Microsoft Showcase College.
As a ‘Microsoft Showcase College’, the College will benefit from the IT giant’s support in the personalised learning of students. This includes the use of one-to-one devices and Office 365 Education, Microsoft Teams, OneNote, Skype, Minecraft and more.
Microsoft will also share ideas to enhance staff development, student employability and innovation, and provide the College with opportunities to host Microsoft-branded educational events.
The status is awarded to Colleges that demonstrate “a commitment to education transformation and empowering educators and students to innovate and exercise a growth mindset”.
This new global education programme is an extension of Microsoft’s global network of institutions that use technology to improve teaching and learning.
Tina Jones, UK Education Engagement Manager at Microsoft, said: “We recently held a two-day session for our Showcase Schools and Colleges, which was a tremendous success.
“It was an amazing opportunity for our team to share updates on Accessibility, STEM, Apprenticeships, Azure and plan together for the future as well as learning from these amazing institutions on how they have achieved such inspirational digital transformation in their school or college.”
Jon Hofgartner, Weston College Assistant Director for Technology, Learning Resources and Skills for Progression, said: “It’s exciting to be working with one of the world’s leading technology corporations.
“Weston College is dedicated to using innovation in technology for learning and business, and this commitment will be enhanced by the partnership with Microsoft and its family of pioneering institutions across the globe.
“As a Microsoft Showcase College, we will benefit from billions of pounds of research and knowledge that we would never usually have access to.
“Microsoft technologies empower people and businesses around the world, and many jobs that young people apply for will require them to use digital working environments such as Office 365, so embedding this technology as well as digital skills and capabilities into our teaching and learning is vital for all our students.”
Weston College’s results this year exceeded all expectations at every level. This included a 99% A Level pass rate, vocational results at a similar level plus over 30% of its degree provision achieving First Class Honours.
Alongside this the College are experiencing a demand for A Level places, which has grown exponentially with the realisation of the value of post-16 study. As a result the college has decided to expand its provision.
These developments will include new facilities and a significant investment at Loxton Campus in Weston-super-Mare.
In addition Weston College has been awarded a Career College status which will mean it can expand the range of provision to include technical qualifications in engineering and digital subjects alongside existing courses.
As a result the College will be able to offer up to 1000 new places for the 2019 academic year with many new buildings completed in early 2019. The intention is not to change the highly successful delivery models but actually to enhance resources available to all learners.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Weston College Group Principal and Chief Executive, said “The new resources will create a ground breaking educational centre for Weston-super-Mare and the wider area.
“Our learners will benefit from a unique education that takes advantage of the latest technology, and receive unrivalled opportunities to succeed.
“We will continue to develop links with local and national employers, providing learners with employability skills in a range of technical areas, fully equipping them for university or the world of work.
“Loxton Campus will therefore provide major opportunity for training post-16 learners in A Levels, vocational creative subjects and the whole health and wellbeing agenda with major involvement from Weston Area Health Trust and other bodies.”
The above investment has been made possible by the College match-funding a successful bid for funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) through the Local Growth Fund, administered by the West of England Combined Authority. This will create bespoke science labs, a health and well-being centre, sports pitches and gymnasiums.
Chair of the West of England LEP, Prof Steve West, said: “It’s great to see Weston College going from strength-to-strength. We’re pleased to help build on that success by supporting the improvements at Loxton Campus, which will give young people the skills they need to progress further in their education and secure better career prospects with the great selection of businesses right here in the West of England.”
The Minister for Local Growth, Jake Berry, said: “This Government is committed to boosting economic growth across the whole of the UK and building a Britain fit for the future.
“Enhancing learning and career opportunities is central to our plan for a stronger, more resilient West of England economy. These improvements at Weston College made possible by the Local Growth Fund will make a huge difference – both for students and local employers looking for home-grown talent.”
James Rimmer, Chief Executive of Weston Area Health Trust, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for partnership working between Weston College and Weston General Hospital. “This demonstrates the investment we are both making to support the learning and development of students. We hope it will also help the recruitment and retention of staff as well as supporting the increased demand on healthcare locally”.
If you’d like to find out more about becoming a Weston College student, call 01934 411 411 or email enquiries@weston.ac.uk
CAREERS NOT COURSES
We know it’s not about the course you take, but the career you’ll start your journey towards. Your study programme is built from the ground up with your future in mind, focussing on employability and developing the skills you need to have a successful career within your chosen industry, making connections and gaining experiences through local and national employers we work with:
As a Weston College student, you will become part of one of our exciting new Career Excellence Hubs.
This means our courses aren't just courses... your study programme is built from the ground up with your future in mind, focussing on employability and developing the skills you need to have a successful career within your chosen industry...
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