Decision makers from 10 countries visit Warwick Trident College for advice on developing technical education programmes

Decision makers from across the globe visited a leading college in Warwickshire to discover more about how the college works in partnership with employers to develop technical and vocational education programmes.

More than 50 delegates from around the world paid a visit to Warwick Trident College, which is part of college group WCG, as part of a conference organised by The British Council.

The conference titled ‘Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) for a sustainable economy’ saw delegates visit Coventry and Warwickshire for three days.

It was organised by The British Council to provide visitors with the opportunity to reflect on the work the UK has done to develop an effective TVET system and consider how potential takeaways could be applied in their own countries.

Guests visited from countries including Botswana, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, Sudan and Tanzania. The delegation included government ministers and officials, training providers, employers, Further Education leaders and other key stakeholders.

The college visit provided opportunities for delegates to hear directly from an established Further Education College, which has a track record of working successfully with employers – exemplified by it receiving The Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 .

Senior college figures spoke with delegates before they were given a full tour of the college led by Alan May, Warwick Trident College Director – which included an opportunity to see Warwick Trident’s recently opened Electric Vehicle Training Facility.

Chris Cooper, Global Lead for TVET, British Council, said: “Delegates found their visit to Warwick Trident College invaluable as they were able to see and experience first-hand how a UK college positions itself within its community of employers and students.

“Through activities such as this, our Going Global Partnerships Programme facilitates partnerships between colleges, education policy makers and industry partners in the UK and around the world.”

Delegates and The British Council were greeted with a welcome address from Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, who provided an overview of the college group and the breadth of work it is involved with.

Louise Bennett, WCG President, then spoke about the importance of education working in partnership with businesses, and provided examples of how the college group does this effectively.

Other speakers included Peter Husband, COO of WCG, who highlighted the return on investment available to businesses if the partnership works correctly with education.

Nicola Perrett, Director of Student Services, discussed student welfare and support, and was joined by students and apprentices who shared their college experiences with the visitors.

Louise Bennett, President of WCG, said: “It was a really good afternoon of insightful conversations and the delegates were all very engaged and interested in hearing about the work that the college group does with employers to develop effective educational programmes.

“I spoke about the importance of engagement with the private sector and how it’s vital to work with businesses to forecast the vocational skills that are required.

“We also spoke a lot about internationalisation and highlighted how our region already trades with many of their countries, and that as a region we place importance on understanding international skill needs too.”

Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG, added: “We are very proud of the partnerships we have with businesses in our region, from SMES to major employers such as JLR, Babcock, Royal Mail and many more.

“Technical education is one of the key pillars of a successful developing economy and we hope the delegates took away some insight which will have a positive impact on their country’s developments in technical and vocational education training.

“We are committed to continuing to strengthen our international partnerships as well as our partnerships with businesses. This visit was a demonstration of the benefits of us working globally and how the work we are doing has regional, national and international significance.”

Warwick Trident College will be hosting open days on Thursday, February 2 and Thursday, April 20. Visit  www.wcg.ac.uk/openevents for more information.