Creating brighter futures

The Business Enterprise Project is an exciting endeavour taken on by our Business and Travel students every year, and this project has been no exception!  

The yearly Business Enterprise Project started when Weston Hospicecare approached the Weston College business team with funding opportunities. The Business department came up with a plan to run an enterprise project where learners create and sell products for charity.  

As part of the Careers Excellence Hub, learners have the opportunity to make connections with twenty-one local employers who mentor them and provide advice and guidance regarding the learner’s plans for what they are selling and how they are going to promote it. This feedback is crucial for the development of our learners and allows our learners to prove themselves in a different environment. In addition to being mentored by employers, some of our T-Level Management learners kindly give up their time to act as coaches to the learners. 

A key part of the project is getting used to handling real money, with these same local employers kindly donating £50 to each group of learners which they then must reinvest into products to sell for a profit. A huge thanks must be given to these employers as they are crucial to the project.  

To help foster a healthy competitive spirit, the project is run as a competition, with high performing groups recognised with awards at the end of the project! The overall winner is the group who have made the most profit.  

This project has a fantastic impact on learners. The project is an incredible opportunity to learn a huge range of business skills including finance, marketing, sales, and customer service. This project allows them to take ownership of this learning and put into practice the knowledge and skills they have developed in the classroom. It’s not just business skills developed either, with confidence being built by interacting with employers, the public, and presenting information to judges at the end of the project. This provides fantastic personal development for future interviews and employment. 

Subject Area Manager for Business Ben Melhuish said “Running the enterprise project is my favourite part of the academic year. Putting learners out of their comfort zone, developing their skills and all whilst raising huge sums of money for a local charity is the kind of thing that inspires staff and learners." 

Ben is right about learners raising large amounts of money for charity. Last year’s Business Enterprise Project raised £5,500 for Weston Hospice care! Better still, this year's learners are hoping to beat that benchmark. 

Learners sold their products to the public at a wonderful Christmas Market at the Weston-super-Mare rugby club and have also been selling products this week in the Sovereign Centre to boost their sales and get hands on experience selling to the public.  

This project forms part of the Business Careers Excellence Hub; Weston College is committed to preparing learners for success in a rapidly evolving job market which is reflected in our offer via our bespoke Career Excellence Hubs, which form an integral part of all college programmes. In a world where professional networks and industry-specific skills are integral to landing employment, these hubs provide a unique solution to bridge the gap between education and industry demands. 

Well done to all the learners for everything they have done so far, and good luck to them for the rest of the project! A huge thanks to the employers for giving up their time and donating money to the learners to kickstart the project in the best way. 

In the spirit of community empowerment, Weston College embarked on an ambitious challenge in September, initiating three transformative 30 day challenges.

Each challenge set out to create new opportunities and forge new pathways for people within the community to enter employment, through apprenticeships, industry placements and adult training.

Now, as the challenge has concluded, Weston College has successfully achieved its target, gaining 542 apprenticeship opportunities, 192 industry placements and supporting 153 adults, all within a 30 day period.

Reflecting on the success of the 30 Day Challenge, Jacqui Ford, Interim Principal of Weston College, expressed her delight in the positive outcomes achieved during the campaign, stating: "We are thrilled with the overwhelming success of the 30 Day Challenge.

“At the core of our mission was the aspiration to offer diverse opportunities for individuals to upskill or embark on new career journeys. The campaign successfully delivered on that target, addressing the needs of our community, for people of all ages.

“We have seen young people gain their very first job via an apprenticeship, and adults retrain for a completely new career.

“This campaign has not only created new opportunities for learners but has also strengthened our commitment to providing quality education that aligns with the needs of the community and the evolving job market."

Although the campaign is officially over, you can still access support from Weston College’s award-winning team. If you would like to hire an apprentice, offer a placement to a T Level learner, or upskill your team, then visit: https://www.weston.ac.uk/employers

Learners studying A Level Fashion went on a trip to the Victoria and Albert Museum, in Knightsbridge, London last Friday. 

44 learners in total went on the trip, where they had the opportunity to visit an array of exhibitions, including DIVA, which is running until April 2024.

DIVA celebrates the power and creativity of iconic performers, exploring and redefining the role of 'diva' and how this has been subverted or embraced over time across opera, stage, popular music, and film.

There was a spectacular collection of costumers which were worn by icons including Maria Callas, CHER, Rihanna, Elton John and Marilyn Monroe.

Lecturer in Textiles, Nicola Stent, who ran the trip, said: “At Weston College we are passionate about giving our learners the opportunity to broaden their horizons, which is a critical part of our Career Excellence Hubs.

“This trip allowed learners to not only expand their knowledge, but also cultivate the skills and maturity necessary for their future endeavours.

“Witnessing the passion and enthusiasm of our learners, I was deeply impressed by their attitude towards learning. Many exhibited a keen attention to detail, thoroughly engaging with the exhibits and displaying a remarkable level of maturity within the museum setting.

“The magic of Knightsbridge became a backdrop to the growth and enrichment of our students, and it was truly a pleasure to be part of this transformative journey."

If you would like to find out more about our A Level Fashion courses, please click here.