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QUALIFICATIONS EXPLAINED
A Levels develop the knowledge, skills and study habits to excel at university, as well as the attributes recognised by employers.
Your academic studies will be complemented with enrichment opportunities such as trips, mentoring and work experience, providing the perfect springboard for your future career.
A Levels are assessed through exams at the end of two years of study. Most learners study three subjects - some choose four.
With an apprenticeship you’ll go straight into the workplace and be shown clear routes to progress straight into employment within a specific occupation. You can achieve nationally recognised qualifications, earn a wage, and gain skills that will see you get ahead. On average you will spend 20% of your learning time in the college and 80% within the workplace
Professional and technical qualifications are designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to gain employment within specific industries or occupations. They provide a balance between theory and practical skills development. They are suited to those who want to get hands-on experience within a particular vocational area. These programmes include work placements. Assessment is more varied and will include exams, coursework and practical work.
T Levels give you the chance to learn what a real career is like while you continue your studies. T Levels have been designed with leading businesses and employers to give you the knowledge and skills you need, including a minimum of 45 days on an industry placement – this means you will spend 80% of your learning time in College and 20% within the workplace.
LATEST NEWS
The Enterprise4U final took place on Wednesday 27th March at Weston College. The event is an excellent example of how schools, Weston College and local businesses work together to raise the aspirations of young people.
Over the last few months, teams of young people have been developing ideas for a new business with the support of school staff, business and enterprise consultants Jane Dickson and Bernie Richardson and staff from Weston College. During the final, learners shared their business plans, hosted a trade stand, displayed their prototypes and presented their ideas to a panel of judges. Learners excelled in their presentations and displayed confidence in answering the judge’s questions. Selecting the winners was a difficult decision for the judges and after much deliberation the following prizes were awarded by the Deputy Mayor and Mayoress of Weston-super-Mare, Councillor Martin Williams & Mrs Brenda Charles.
Best Business Plan - Worle Community School
Best Trade Stand - Churchill Academy
Best Presentation - Hans Price Academy
Overall winner and winner of the Tony Smith Enterprise Award - Priory Community School
All winners received an E4U Trophy and vouchers. The overall winners will also get to visit the University Centre Weston for a tour of the facilities and to present their business ideas to a Business Lecturer.
Well done to all the learners that took part in the process of E4U. Learners demonstrated commitment, maturity and an in depth passion for the event. The Weston E4U Schools’ Business Challenge showcases the entrepreneurial and business skills of young people in Weston.
A Weston College course that supports young people with SEND into paid employment has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.
The innovative ‘Into Work’ programme is in the running for the SEND Apprenticeship Champion category at the FE Week and AELP AAC Apprenticeship Awards.
Staff from the College’s Foundation Learning team will attend a glittering ceremony at the ICC in Birmingham on March 28th to find out if they have won. Those shortlisted have also been invited to a special reception at the Houses of Parliament on March 4th.
‘Into Work’ is a one-year supported internship for 16 to 24-year-olds with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Staff work with learners, their families and employers to provide employability skills, and instil confidence and self-belief.
The course, which launched in 2014, has already proved a major success with 45% of learners achieving paid employment, and 55% progressing to higher-level training. Nationally, just 6% of learners with learning disabilities are in paid employment.
Last year, ‘Into Work’ won the ‘Inclusion in Employment’ category at the National Special Educational Needs Awards.
Dr Paul Phillips CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of Weston College Group, said: “’Into Work’ is still a relatively new programme so to receive such recognition already is a fantastic achievement and deserved tribute to course leaders.
“This shortlisting demonstrates how the College has embraced the ideals and ethos of supported employment and put them into practice to achieve sustainable outcomes and help learners transition successfully into adulthood.”
Weston College is leading the way with its SEND provision, last year the College had the prestigious honour of winning a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education, one of only two further education colleges in the country to be awarded this prestigious honour this year.
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.
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