Double Award Win for Newcastle College for Skills Initiatives

Newcastle College (@NCLCollege) was recognised for its skills-led student experience last week, as it scooped two trophies at the Educate North Awards 2020.

The Educate the North Awards is a prestigious annual awards event which celebrates, recognises and shares best practice and excellence in the education sector in the North.

Its visionary partnership with Port Training Services (PTS), the Port of Blyth’s award-winning training arm, received the award for Business Collaboration and Partnerships in FE/HE, marking the second win a row for the College in this category. The award recognises the College’s collaboration with industry to ensure that the qualifications, facilities and skills programmes it offers meet employer demand and skills gaps across the North East.

The College’s partnership with PTS sees them work together to develop and deliver training programmes with direct pathways into the offshore energy sector, the region’s fastest growing industry. Combining the technical expertise of Newcastle College’s Energy Academy with the industry insight and working environment of PTS, students benefit from access to highly vocational offshore, marine, subsea and port related training in real-working facilities, putting the College at the forefront of skills training for the region’s energy sector.

Martin Lawlor, Chief Executive of Port of Blyth, said:

“ We’re absolutely delighted to see this visionary partnership win this award. As a division of the Port of Blyth, Port Training Services has long been at the forefront of port and marine training in the UK. This award recognises the strides made in Blyth in recent years to ensure that the offshore energy sector that is so important to both town and the region, is provided with a conveyor belt of local talent to fill their skills gap in the coming years. We’re extremely proud that the partnership with Newcastle College has already seen its first cohort of Level 3 graduates head off into industry and look forward to collaborating and innovating with the college long into the future.”

Newcastle College University Centre was also named a winner as its Research, Scholarship and Student Engagement Team took the accolade of Research Team of the Year, for its focus on pioneering an innovative research environment that benefits students across the College Based Higher Education (CBHE) community.

The team’s work has meant that a culture of collaborative research has flourished at Newcastle College University Centre, helping students to form partnerships with colleagues to undertake research projects, or apply for one of over 100 different Student Fellowship roles, all with the aim of enhancing the student experience.

Scott Bullock, Principal of Newcastle College, commented:

“I am extremely proud of everyone at Newcastle College and within our University Centre for the work they have done to achieve these accolades, especially through the challenges of the past twelve months.

“Collaboration with employers is at the centre of everything we do at Newcastle College and as part of NCG, our training and development is shaped around skills required by industries across our region, that will lead to real employment opportunities for our learners and make real impact in our region, which is integral to rebuilding and growing the North East economy in the coming months. Our partnership with PTS is a fantastic example of how we can work collaboratively to address the skills priorities of the North East and create opportunities for our learners, our local communities and our employer partners.

“The role of our Research Team is also crucially aligned to the experience of our degree students, providing research projects and employer engagement opportunities that ensure our students leave us highly-skilled, work-ready and with opportunities to gain meaningful employment here in the North East.”