As a Weston College student, you'll get to experience an engaging and vibrant learning environment filled with unique activities and opportunities that won't get anywhere else...

This year’s Creative Arts Festival took place from 23rd May until the 21st June and provided our students with a fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents. There was a range of shows throughout the festival, with work produced by students studying courses throughout our Creative Arts Department.

The Summer Showcase took place at Loxton Campus, running for 8 days and was met with great reviews. There was a wide range of work on show, which was produced by students studying media production, graphics, photography, contemporary arts, graphic design, as well as art and design.

Our music students took over the Electric Banana for three nights, with students from Year 1, Year 2 and UCW taking to the stage and treating the audience to DJ sets, acoustic sessions and other musical performances.

The Performing Arts Showcase ‘The Greatest Show’ was a fantastic spectacle which took place in front of a packed out crowd in the Playhouse, and was met with standing ovations. If you are interested in studying any Creative Arts courses you can find information by clicking here.

Art students at Weston College have produced a dazzling centrepiece for a local store’s Christmas marketing campaign.

All Level 2 Art and Design students were asked to design Proper Job’s Christmas ‘Shed of Wonder’, which is used to sell trees at the Devonshire Road hardware store.

This ‘real-life’ brief involved researching the store’s customer base and producing relevant designs for the shed.

A winning design – produced by Erin Popham – was then chosen, and students worked in shifts over two weeks to bring it to life, on-site at the Proper Job warehouse.

Art and Design Lecturer Ben Thomas-Taylor said: “Work experience, such as this, is a compulsory part of the Level 2 course. It provides many benefits for our students, giving them relevant skills and experience to help them stand out to potential employers, whilst helping them to choose the right sector to work in.

“For the past two years we’ve collaborated with Proper Job, designing and painting their 'Shed of Wonder', as part of their Christmas marketing campaign.

“Every student worked hard bringing to life the winning design and did a fantastic job. The company were very pleased and told us it would appeal perfectly to their customer base.”

Weston College was one of only 32 organisations across the UK to be awarded funding to develop flexible/blended courses as part of the DfE Flexible Learning Fund (FLF) pilot which runs until 31st July 2019.

The FLF courses have been developed in partnership with a number of local employers, to ensure that they address specific skills gaps and/or identified need.

The pilot courses are:

• Leadership and Management

• ICT User Skills, Enterprise Skills

• Understanding Autism

• Customer Care in a Health and Social Care Setting

• Maintaining a Tenancy.

They range in length from 3 days up to 20 weeks and are accredited by an awarding body.

A major benefit of this type of delivery is that learners do not have to take time out of the workplace to come into college to study. Delivered through a virtual classroom, the courses include interactive sessions, webinars, videos, virtual group sessions and online assessments. A college tutor is available to help learners throughout the course, running online Q&A sessions, webinars and marking uploaded assignments.

It has long been recognised by businesses that, in order for them to continue to innovate and grow, there is a need to continually invest in upskilling, retraining and the professional development of their teams. Alongside this, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and supporting people to develop transferable life skills helps a local economy to diversify and grow.

The courses have been designed to offer transferable skills that can be used both within the workplace and outside of work. For example, the Enterprise course has a strong focus on understanding money management and project management. These skills can be applied to the management of a project within the workplace, but also applied to a project at home such as extending a property.

Although the courses only launched in January, there has been significant take up by employers with some of the courses fully subscribed a month in advance. Businesses have recognised how these courses can help with meeting specific business needs, but also helping to meet personal objectives of staff.

To find out more, please click here. 

Jane Vivian, Project Manager of New Initiatives.

Weston College now provides a range of accredited scaffold training courses at our Construction Training Centre in Weston-super-Mare. Scaffolder courses are available from entry level (COTS) and scaffolding apprenticeships through to CISRS Part 2 scaffolding courses. The training centre features a state-of-the-art 10 metre high, 1000m2 indoor practical area, allowing trainee scaffolders the chance to get hands on in a safe, dry environment.

Scaffolders looking to upskill have a range of options including our supervisor courses and scaffold inspection training. We also provide non-core courses for general workforce competence, including short duration training on critical areas such as scaffold anchor testing, harness inspection, SG4, TG20 and manual handling.

To find out more please visit our dedicated construction website https://www.construction-training-centre.co.uk/scaffolding-training-courses/

The health and life sector accounts for 15% of employment in the UK, with around 80,000 people employed in various roles in the West of England alone.

Despite this, skills shortages and vacancy rates are higher than ever.

We’re tackling these challenges head on by providing learners with the knowledge and expertise needed to succeed in the industry – as apprentice Rebecca Twinney demonstrates.

Rebecca is a senior healthcare assistant at the Royal United Hospital, Bath, and her incredible work ethic saw her named Sport, Health, Lab Tech and Social Care Apprentice of the Year at the Weston College Business Awards 2019.

Rebecca said: “To be recognised for all of the hard work and commitment which I had put into the qualification was overwhelming. The award will serve as a reminder to me of just what is possible when I put my mind to it and has given me the motivation to continue striving for excellence within my profession.

“I genuinely feel that being given the award is no more my achievement than it is of my College assessor, Bekki Ackerman, as it never would have been possible without her unwavering support for every single minute of my qualification.”

Since this achievement, Rebecca has progressed onto a Trainee Nursing Associate programme with the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

We work in partnership with the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust to provide apprenticeship routes into a variety of areas. These are an excellent opportunity to earn, gain work experience and achieve nationally recognised qualifications at the same time.

Rebecca continued: “In terms of my personal career goals, it was essential to obtain this qualification and continue along my planned career progression route. I am just so grateful to all at Weston College for helping me achieve the promotion I was aiming for and get a place on my next training course so that I can continue towards becoming a qualified nurse in the future.

“I am so pleased to be well on my way towards my career ambitions and it is with my sincerest thanks to all of the staff at Weston College for making this possible and helping me to realise my dreams.”

Congratulations to Rebecca on her outstanding achievements!

New state-of-the-art resources on the horizon

From September our learners will benefit from the bespoke resources and facilities available at the new state-of-the-art Health and Active Living Skills Centre.

This centre will be a fantastic hub for health and social care apprentices. They will gain technical experience by using the new facilities, such as the Nursing Anne simulators, to enable them to become competent and confident practitioners.

Learners will also benefit from the centre’s digital infrastructure, allowing them to network with one another and prospective employers from a variety of large NHS trusts.

The centre will also encourage students to lead a balanced lifestyle, as staff will promote students’ physical and mental health, and well-being by encouraging them to use the new sporting facilities that the centre also boasts.

Click here to find out more about our new facility as well as apprenticeships and courses in Health and Social Care.

Weston College has been inspired by their recent win of the prestigious Employer of the Year at the Lloyds Bank National Business Awards. The College who are the 9th largest Further and Higher Education College in the country, have decided to commemorate winning by launching their national ‘Fresh Start’ business awareness campaign to encourage a sea of change to kick start ‘socially inclusive’ recruitment in the UK.

The idea is a simple one based around businesses pledging to be more open minded when considering CV’s in order to discover untapped talent from wider disadvantaged groups in society, who might be struggling to get a second chance at career employment.

Employers can sign up to the support the campaign using the following link: www.weston.ac.uk/fresh-start-campaign they will receive the ‘Proud to be a Fresh Start Employer’ logo which can be used to promote their support on their own website – thereby giving confidence to job applicants to know that their CV will be viewed with an open mind and looked at holistically.

The College’s Principal and Chief Executive Dr Paul Phillips CBE was inspired to create the campaign after winning such a prestigious award, he said; “We all know talented people who have struggled to return to employment after various life events whether this is someone who has been ill or cared for children or elderly relatives with a gap in their CV, or people who have recovered from episodes of mental ill health/addiction, or suffered stigma due to homelessness/existing prison, as well as disabled people or those struggling to transition from the armed services.

“If we can encourage more employers to display the ‘Proud to be a Fresh Start Employer’ logo, it will give hope and confidence to many job applicants out there, that there are a number of employers who have pledged to be that little bit more open minded when a CV arrives in their offices. In essence the ‘Fresh Start’ pledge and campaign is about opening doors and having honest conversations rather than closing opportunities and overlooking talent.”

Weston College is aiming to get 100 employers to sign the pledge by this time next year, as part of its wider strategy to increase social mobility, and to help businesses create inclusive and more diverse workplaces. All employers are encouraged to take the pledge and download and promote the logo, as a sign that they are a socially inclusive recruiter.

An upsurge of interest in Apprenticeships at Weston College is being celebrated to mark National Apprenticeship Week.

In recent years the number of Apprenticeships at the College has grown enormously, making Weston College one of the biggest facilitators of work-based training in the region.

More than 90 per cent of College apprentices are now retained by their employers after their training period has finished, and the College works with around 1,000 employers from across the region.

This week (March 3-7) is National Apprenticeship Week and College-related events have been going on all over the area.

A Weston College-branded stand in Weston-super-Mare’s Sovereign shopping centre attracted passers-by interested in information about Apprenticeships.

The College also visited eight schools including ones in Bridgwater, Clevedon and Nailsea. Children were given an introduction to Apprenticeships, including a talk from an employer, and employment taster sessions were on offer.

It also marked the launch of ‘100 in 100’, a College-led bid, supported by the National Apprenticeship Service and the Weston Mercury newspaper, to create 100 new Apprenticeships in 100 days. One of the key aims of the campaign is to raise awareness of the Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE), which is available for eligible businesses who take on a young apprentice.

One of the week’s highlights was the Skills Show, which took place at the Winter Gardens on Tuesday March 4. Around 3,000 people - including many local schoolchildren turned out for the European Social Fund and Local Enterprise Partnership-funded event, which was facilitated by Weston College.

Major local employers were on hand to give advice and offer taster sessions in catering, construction, business, hair and beauty and healthcare.

Tim Walsh, 20, a Weston College apprentice working at DoubleTree at Hilton Cadbury House Hotel in Congresbury, was mixing non-alcoholic cocktails with Max Bennett, another College apprentice at the same hotel and a WorldSkills award winner.

Tim, of Winscombe, said: “I’m loving the apprenticeship and it’s given me a great deal of confidence in connecting with customers and delivering the best I can.”

Max, 19, added: “It’s great to be at the Skills Show and we’re getting a lot of interest in what we’re doing. Hopefully this might lead on to some new employees in the future.”

James Wilmot, Weston College Apprenticeship Recruitment Coordinator, said: “The popularity of this week’s events proves how strong the interest in Apprenticeships is, which is borne out by the variety of Apprenticeships we offer.

“Increasingly, it seems, young people are seeing Apprenticeships as a way to earn while they learn and this interest is helping to generate many worthwhile placements leading to greater opportunities.”

Weston College has teamed up with Weston-super-Mare Helicopter Museum to help renovate Weston Airfield’s dilapidated pilots’ block.

College students, their lecturer Steve Harris and curriculum manager Shaun Canniford volunteered to plaster the 1930s building that has laid in a derelict state since 1993.

“The Helicopter Museum approached us with this project and we were more than happy to help,” Shaun said.

“This development has enabled us to give our students the opportunity to take the skills that they have learned in the workshop and apply them in a commercial environment. Taking into account the significance of the building to the local community, it was important that the College contributed to this project.”

The project is being funded by the Coastal Communities Fund, who have earmarked £138,000 for the development, and the plaster was donated by CRS Building Suppliers, a local business that is based next to the museum in a building that was once part of the airfield complex.

Nick Burrough, Branch Manager at CRS Building Supplies, said: “This is a local project and the College and CRS both share the same vision of supporting the local community to help it grow, expand and develop.”

Alison Page, Project Manager of the redevelopment, said: “This regeneration will help Weston-super-Mare retain its links to a long history of aviation, and is about giving that history back to the local people.

“So much of our aviation history is already gone, and we want to bring it all back in to the room it started in.”

The development will finish in 2016 and open to the public as Weston Aviation Museum.

On Friday 4th December the Helicopter Museum will be holding a social event for anyone with a link to Weston-super-Mare’s aviation past.

For more information on the social event or to volunteer at the site, contact Alison on 07341 836097.