MPs offer support for Kirklees College during Colleges Week

This week is Colleges Week, an annual campaign run by the Association of Colleges that celebrates the Further Education sector and encourages colleges to come together and lobby for support from government.

Around 1.6m students are educated in further education colleges in the UK, and this annual event is an opportunity to showcase the breadth of opportunities colleges provide and the way in which they transform lives and communities.

This year, the celebrations have been moved to the spring, in recognition of a likely general election in the autumn. As part of the week’s theme of influencing, engaging, celebrating, Kirklees College has rallied the support of local MPs to highlight the importance of funding for relevant and current vocational skills needed in sectors across the country.

Kim Leadbeater, MP for Batley and Spen, emphasised her support for Kirklees College. She said:

“As a former lecturer in Further and Higher Education, I know first-hand just how vital the work of colleges such as Kirklees College is in improving the lives of the people in their communities.

With over 10,000 students in Kirklees, including many from my constituency of Batley and Spen, Kirklees College provides the kind of varied, vocational curriculum that can help people of all ages and backgrounds prepare for their next steps in life. Colleges Week is a great occasion to celebrate the work of Kirklees College and the wider FE sector in improving skills across our region and offering educational opportunities to all.”

On Thursday 29 February, Kirklees College will also be hosting its annual Apprenticeships Fair at Pioneer Higher Skills Centre in Dewsbury with Mark Eastwood MP. Mark Eastwood is MP for Dewsbury, Mirfield, Kirkburton and Denby Dale and this will be his third apprenticeships fair held at the college. The day invites students from local schools to Kirklees College to learn about all things apprenticeships, including CV writing and interview skills workshops and an employer fair with our partner companies from a range of sectors.

To find out more about Colleges Week, please visit here.