Etc. announces its route map to Destination 2030

Following a run of transformative developments across the college group, the Education Training Collective is setting out its Destination 2030 strategic plan.

Taking his message on the road to share with colleagues this week, chief executive and group principal, Grant Glendinning, says their message is clear – “build futures, open doors and connect”.

“For the group this means maintaining a focus on every learner as an individual with their own unique hopes, plans and ambitions for the future,” he said.

“It’s about reaching more people so they can access education, overcome barriers, embrace inclusion and feel a sense of belonging, possibility and personal achievement.

“And it is building connections with employers and our communities to work together to shape provision, create opportunities, improve life chances and support growth.”

It might sound like simple stuff, but Grant says in a world that is rapidly changing around us, the plan offers focus in what is undeniably a complex landscape.

As a group delivering a service across multiple locations, he explained: “It is important to set an intention, with high level aims and ambitions, for colleagues to better know and understand what they are working towards.”

He said: “The world has changed hugely in recent years with global events, technology – which has exponentially impacted the way we work and what the future and our area might look like – and people’s attitudes to the future.”

Across the Etc. which incorporates Bede Sixth Form College, Innersummit, NETA Training, Redcar and Cleveland College and Stockton Riverside College, they are working hard to be equipped and ready to deliver current and future skills needs.

Significant investment in new and innovative capital projects, has seen the colleges working with employers, industry leaders and the combined and local authorities to offer solutions where they are most needed.

In recent years this has included the Etc. picking up the baton as a leader in clean energy training, with the group named a Clean Energy Technical Excellence College by the Department for Education this year.

The development of core engineering and industrial skills through NETA’s sites which now incorporate the brand-new £14.7m facility in Thornaby, due to open this year, and the £4.7m All Access Academy launched in Redcar.

The addition of enhanced learning spaces and classrooms, including specialist suites and breakout spaces, at Bede Sixth Form.

And helping carve out meaningful careers for vocational learners at Stockton Riverside College and Redcar and Cleveland College, with classrooms and workshops that replicate the work environment.

Grant says now it is time to ensure those facilities deliver what they set out to do, creating meaningful opportunities for learners that benefit the individual and drive economic growth.

He said: “In terms of new facilities we have done a lot and now, connecting with industry leaders, employers and partners, it is time to make the best use of those spaces.”

With so much change locally, nationally and globally, and further developments in the pipeline for the Tees Valley and across the UK, he said: “Here at the Etc. we are a significant resource for industry partners, employers and those looking to be successful in the Tees Valley and beyond.

“If you look at the likes of the new NETA Training facility, the All Access Academy or the Clean Energy Education Hub, we have some one-of-a-kind training equipment that wouldn’t normally be readily accessible to industry.

“And as professionals delivering outstanding learning for our students every day, we have a lot to share in terms of expertise.”

The Destination 2030 plan marks a line in the sand to reflect on all that’s been achieved so far and the beginning of a new chapter.

Grant said: “This is not just a rallying cry; this is a tangible plan.”