A partnership between further education institutions in the Staffordshire area, led by Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG), has been awarded funding for investment in new facilities and industry-standard equipment and the development of new courses and curriculum to support people to gain the skills needed to launch careers in priority sectors and support the local economy to grow.
Buxton & Leek College will receive a share of £3.2M from the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) to help strengthen this specialist provision, transforming skills training within the borough, ensuring that local businesses can continue to tap into the skilled workforce they need to thrive. Working with employers the partnership will also identify gaps in current training opportunities offered to students and aims to address current and future skills training needs, while helping more people to secure good jobs closer to home.
Claire Poole, Buxton & Leek College’s Vice Principal says, “The industry-standard equipment, and our partnerships with local companies within the Staffordshire and Derbyshire area, will ensure that by the time our students leave us they have the skills, experience, and expertise to hit the ground running in their careers.”
From September 2024 students studying Engineering, which is based at the College’s Leek campus, will have new industry-standard equipment, a new state-of-the-art lab, and a curriculum that reflects local employer’s needs. Staff have also had access to specialist training to assist in the development of an innovative, forward-thinking curriculum to enhance opportunities of progression for students on to higher level courses or into the workplace.
You can find out more about Engineering programmes at BLC, including the T Level, here.