University Centre Leeds scoops coveted accolade at a prestigious education awards ceremony

The HE Science team at University Centre Leeds (@UniCentreLeeds) has won the Business/Industry Collaboration accolade at this year’s Educate North Awards, hosted virtually by Jim Hancock.

The prestigious awards event, which attracts more than 300 education professionals from Further and Higher Education institutions from across the North, celebrates best practice and recognises excellence in the education sector.

University Centre Leeds, a member of Luminate Education Group acts as a leading Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) provision for the region and is recognised for its industry collaborations with companies that include leading research facility, Covance.

The university centre has been in partnership with Covance for the last four years and together they designed a two year Laboratory Technician Apprenticeship programme to bridge the gap in the bioscience sector. 

Richard Keys, Head of HE Science, Health & Sport at University Centre Leeds, said: “The success of our apprenticeship programmes demonstrates the benefits of working collaboratively with employers across the science sector, creating a talent pipeline of highly skilled professionals with the experience, determination and skill set to succeed in a competitive labour market.”

“This recognition by Educate North Awards is a further testament to the benefits of working with employers to ensure we are in line with the demands of the market.

“More importantly, as we level up through our STEM programmes and offer both theoretical and practical teaching programmes, it is helping bridge the skills gap and we are seeing and creating a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians for various industries.”

Last year, the university launched a new health play specialist apprenticeship standard that will be vital to the skills boost within the healthcare sector. 

The purpose of the Level 5 Health Play Specialists (HPS) apprenticeship is to prepare apprentices with the practical skills and experience to enable them to provide therapeutic play interventions for sick infants, children and young people, service users, carers and families of all ages, throughout their healthcare journey.

University Centre Leeds offers a range of Higher Education qualifications validated by Leeds City College and The Open University.