Providing the skills of the future - a college at the heart of the conversation

: Created: 13 February 2020

What followed was a tour of local schools by our Apprenticeships team staging classroom workshops for pupils, dispelling a number of common myths and promoting them as serious and aspirational programmes of study to rival the traditional academic route to success. They also pointed out the advantage of earning a monthly salary, not having to pay fees or running up a debt.

The College teamed up with Bexley Council for a borough-wide event for local employers interested in recruiting apprentices and training their existing staff. On Tuesday 4 February we staged a fantastic live-streamed ‘Meet the Heads of Industry’ panel to discuss two related topics - Women into Construction and Men into Early Years. We were honoured to welcome students from across the College and major employer representatives from construction firms Wates, Econ, Berkeley, and early years specialists LEYF Nurseries, Purple Willows and More2 Childcare. We piloted an ambitious live stream via Facebook. If you would like to watch both streams, they are still available in our timeline.

On Wednesday 5 February, the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich was the setting for our Apprenticeships and Skills for Greenwich event where we teamed up with Royal Borough of Greenwich, South East London Chamber of Commerce, and Visit Greenwich to discuss all things skills and employment, the future of south east London and the exciting developments due to happen over the next decade and beyond. With special guest speakers Cllr Denise Hyland, Barry Kelly, CEO of Visit Greenwich, Chris Rooney, Talent and Culture Manager at InterContinental London - The O2, Peter Ellis, Job Brokerage Manager at Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB), and our very own Neil Coates, Group Director of Business Development, we welcomed over 50 employer representatives to an all-day seminar and workshops extravaganza encompassing many related topics from the visitor economy and tourism, transport links and infrastructure, job creation and skills matching, growth and regeneration and lots more.

Our keynote speaker Anthony Impey MBE provided a fitting finale for the event with a lecture about ‘what is driving skills and training now and, in the future’. He gave the audience lots to think about with the impact of leaving the EU (the pros and cons of this) and what we (the UK) need to do to invest in providing skills to power our economy in almost every single sector, how technology will affect us all and the ways in which people are employed - new innovations in automation and AI and the future impact of a carbon-free economy. There was plenty to take in and the conversation is one that will go on for a long time to come.

On Thursday 6 February, our Marriott Hotel Takeover speed interviews took place at Bromley Campus. Students met Alex Dimsdale, Director of HR at London Marriott County Hall Hotels Group, along with his newly recruited shadow general manager, Level 3 Travel and Tourism student Lois Buckland. The two conducted the interviews to decide which students will be taking part in this highly ambitious takeover week due to happen in March 2020.

To round off a truly fabulous week of activity and endeavour, we were paid a visit by Sir David Evennett, MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford. He was greeted by Trust CEO Dr Sam Parrett and Chair of Corporation Stephen Howlett CBE at the College’s Bexley Campus in Erith and then taken on a tour of its facilities, meeting students and teachers along the way. Speaking to the College’s media students, Sir David talked about his support for Colleges and how he believes Further Education holds the key to unlock the UK’s economic potential.

At the end of the week, we were left with lots to think about. One thing is for certain, change is coming and our employer forums, links and partnerships are going to play a major role in how the College reacts to the developing landscape. Skills and vocational training, apprenticeships and technology aren’t just for National Apprenticeship Week - they are forever.

If you are an employer and thinking of taking on an apprentice or providing your existing staff with bespoke training opportunities that will help them become more qualified and confident in a range of skills, practices and regulations, we’d like to hear from you. Call us on 020 3954 4965 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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