Award win for college group’s positive influence on green habits
A college group’s efforts to bolster greener habits have been recognised with a national award and green accreditation for the second year running.
The Education Training Collective (Etc.) has been named winner of the Investors in the Environment’s Sustainability Influencer Award. The title highlights not only their own commitment to change but also a drive to encourage others to do the same.
“Our commitment to sustainability and the environment has been a priority across our campuses in recent years,” said the group’s director of marketing and business engagement, Erika Marshall.
“The environment is something that we know truly matters to our learners. Our aim is to provide a platform to not only learn about sustainability but also provide opportunities to carry out those actions in a practical way.”
The iiE national sustainability awards celebrate the green achievements of small to medium-sized enterprises and larger businesses and organisations around the UK who are working to reduce their resource use, support nature, influence change and make a positive social impact.
Also achieving iiE Green accreditation for the second consecutive year, the highest possible standard, the Etc. is committed to improving sustainability across its campuses and reducing their carbon footprint.
The group incorporates Stockton Riverside College, Redcar and Cleveland College, Bede Sixth Form College, The Skills Academy, NETA Training and Innersummit.
Working with thousands of learners, together the colleges and training providers have implemented a host of green measures to promote positive change.
Projects have included the creation of a Green Initiatives Group, a team of like-minded individuals from across the organisation working together to create and deliver new ideas.
Carbon literacy workshops have been delivered to staff to help spread the word along with an increased focus on sustainability embedded into lessons.
The creation of a thrift exchange, gift swap and a staff car share scheme are just some of the ways individuals are being urged to make a change and think about their environmental impact.
The college group has also made significant improvements to the environmental performance of its central operations along with larger-scale developments such as the launch of its Clean Energy Education Hub and Retrofit Academy at Redcar and Cleveland College, focusing on skills for the low carbon energy and construction industries.
Working with Carbon Neutral Britain, Etc. has been certified carbon neutral for three years.
Etc. chief executive and group principal Grant Glendinning said: “We are incredibly proud to see the group recognised nationally for its work to make sustainability a priority and find ways to share this with our learners, staff and communities.
“The Green Initiatives Group, along with many other staff and students, have worked hard to find new and innovative ways to reduce their carbon emissions both in the classroom and at home.”
Investors in the Environment (iiE) is a national environmental accreditation scheme designed to help organisations reduce their impact on the environment and get recognition for their progress.
Antony Gough, national lead at iiE, said: “This year’s competition was tougher than ever, showcasing the extraordinary efforts of our members. Their dedication is further reflected in the record-breaking number of accreditations, award entries, and the sizeable impacts we’ve achieved together.”
Meet Etc.’s new group director of human resources, Adele
From fairground work to catering, human resource management to studying a professional doctorate, Adele Currie knows career paths often take a varied route.
Now, joining the Education Training Collective as the group director of human resources and people development, she’s ready to put her own mixed bag of professional experiences to good use and hit the ground running.
Passionate about learning and people development, her story is the epitome of what we do here. With the move into education, she is looking forward to developing further knowledge and skills, with a willingness to learn, and all the benefits fresh eyes can bring.
While new to the sector, Adele has 30 years of experience in human resources and human resource management, bringing a wealth of experience to the role, along with a drive to give the greatest “people experience” to Etc. colleagues at every stage of their career.
She said: “That starts from first attracting people to the organisation, all the way through their career, up until retirement or the decision to move on. I want every stage of the employee cycle to be a fantastic experience.”
Just weeks into the role, she explained: “I have had the most incredible welcome.
“The generosity of spirit everyone I have met has shown me is amazing. Everyone has been so generous with their time, their experience, guidance, support and friendship.”
It is something that truly matters to Adele who is a keen advocate of coaching and mentoring and is even doing a professional doctorate on the subject.
When she completes the qualification, she’ll officially have the title of Dr Currie, something she never would have expected when she started work straight from school.
“My formative years were spent in a deprived area and while I wasn’t written off, I wasn’t expected to reach doctoral level,” she said.
Early jobs included catering and bar work before moving to Brighton where she worked on the fairgrounds. Doing everything from dishing out the candyfloss to working on the dodgems, it certainly prepared her for the demands of a real day’s graft.
“It was hard work and long hours,” she said. “Plus, it was seasonal work.”
It all adds to a rich mix of skills that has brought Adele to where she is today. Moving back to Sunderland at 21, she set up her own catering business and worked in call centres. It was there she fell into training management and HR.
“I started doing some CIPD courses and then challenged myself to do an HNC,” she said. “When someone said I could top that up to a degree with one more year of study I couldn’t believe it, I had thought I had missed the boat by not going to university first time round.”
Since then, education has remained a constant in Adele’s life who achieved a degree, her master’s, she is a Chartered Fellow member of the CIPD and now is working towards that professional doctorate and the prestigious doctor title.
“My education hasn’t been a traditional route, but it just goes to show there are so many different routes you can take,” she said.
Spending the last 18 years working in human resources in social housing, Adele explained: “I feel passionately about coaching as a method of enhancing people’s capabilities, skills, confidence and strategic thinking.”
And just like working in social housing, she feels that working in further education shares a similar synergy.
She said: “For me, giving people options is fantastic, it broadens horizons and offers wonderful experiences.
“From a hearts and minds perspective it is ultimately about helping to set people up for success in life.”
Looking to the future
How Etc. is helping to prepare people for the opportunities coming their way
As Redcar and Cleveland College’s Student of the Year, Alfie is a big believer in the fact that “you get out what you put in”.
Leaping at the opportunity, after he left school, to be part of the college’s first ever batch of the bp-backed Teesside clean energy technician scholars, for him and his fellow scholarship students, it’s a mantra that’s paying off.
They are wise words for a student of just 17, but Alfie’s approach is one that resonates with the whole college’s ethos in recent years, and indeed that of the Education Training Collective.
Comprising Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy (Billingham), Innersummit and, of course Redcar and Cleveland College, Etc. is determined to help ensure our communities (individuals and businesses), are prepared to take advantage of every opportunity coming their way.
For the group, that means predicting what the future holds to ensure they are always a step ahead. The key to “predicting the future” is working with the experts, and for the Etc. colleges and training providers that involves collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.
Group marketing and business engagement director, Erika Marshall, said: “Only by working in partnership with employers, industry leaders, and our local and combined authorities, to identify skills gaps and shortages, can we ensure we are ready to provide meaningful training that meets the ever-evolving needs of the economy and our communities.”
So, what has that meant in real terms for the college group in the development of further education and training that’s fit for future purpose? The answer is a lot when you reflect on developments over the last 18 months across the Etc. providers.
Stockton Riverside College has undergone a £2.8m transformation of its classrooms and workshops in health and social care, early years, bricklaying and motor vehicle, funded in part by the Department for Education’s T Level Capital Funding grant.
The campus in Thornaby now includes a brand-new hair and beauty salon and nail bar, with the latest industry-standard equipment and open to external clients, an ambulance bay and hospital ward complete with life-sized interactive mannequins that can simulate a medical emergency, a nursery and elderly living care zone.
The college’s motor vehicle workshop has more than doubled in size and incorporates some of the latest technology including a full electric car training rig and a radar and camera calibration kit.
At Bede Sixth Form students are now reaping the benefits of a brand-new £2.4m annexe, making room for more learners at the college in Billingham.
Primarily funded by the DfE’s Post-16 Capacity Fund, the annexe incorporates new classrooms and break-out spaces in a three-storey self-contained facility designed to compliment the existing building on Marsh House Avenue.
At Redcar and Cleveland College, a £3.3m investment in facilities, in part through the T Level Capital Funding grant, resulted in new workshops, high tech specialist engineering equipment, a revamped health care wing and early years nursery.
Then, of course, there is the £3.2m Clean Energy Education Hub, created to equip people with the skills needed for future green jobs and made possible with funding from the Town Deal Fund for Redcar.
The hub is crammed full of some of the latest technology needed to train people to meet the demands of the growing renewable and low carbon sector, including a simulated carbon capture training rig, designed and built to train the next generation of Net Zero engineers, and believed to be a UK college first.
Following such a massive transformation you might forgive the group for taking a breath, but the developments don’t stop there.
Plans have been unveiled for a new £14.7m purpose-built NETA Training centre in Thornaby to enhance the delivery of engineering and construction training in the borough, made possible with £4.5m from the Thornaby Town Deal Fund delivered in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
NETA will also head up a £4.7m All Access Academy announced at Redcar and Cleveland College, along with a new welding facility with funding from the Levelling Up partnership fund.
And the college is working with Hydrasun and fellow Tees Valley colleges on the development of a modular hydrogen refuelling facility, made possible with £286k hydrogen hub transport funding secured from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.
For Alfie, and students like him, the foresight for delivering training for future skills will no doubt put him a step ahead when he comes to join the jobs market. Indeed, as a bp scholar, Alfie and his classmates have already caught the attention of the industrial giant, which, when it comes to their employment prospects, can only be a good thing.
Now moving into their second year the scholars have spoken at employer forums, presentations and regional panel events about their ambitions, both for themselves and the Tees Valley. Alfie was even one of three scholars to meet the then Secretary of State for Education during a recent visit to the region.
“You shouldn’t say no to opportunities,” said the 17-year-old from Saltburn. “And I am getting so many opportunities as part of this course. I am over the moon.
“This is my future, if I don’t take up these chances now, I might regret it later in life. It’s all about getting a foot in the door.”
How Etc. is helping to prepare people for the opportunities coming their way
As Redcar and Cleveland College’s Student of the Year, Alfie is a big believer in the fact that “you get out what you put in”.
Leaping at the opportunity, after he left school, to be part of the college’s first ever batch of the bp-backed Teesside clean energy technician scholars, for him and his fellow scholarship students, it’s a mantra that’s paying off.
They are wise words for a student of just 17, but Alfie’s approach is one that resonates with the whole college’s ethos in recent years, and indeed that of the Education Training Collective.
Comprising Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training, Stockton Riverside College, The Skills Academy (Billingham), Innersummit and, of course Redcar and Cleveland College, Etc. is determined to help ensure our communities (individuals and businesses), are prepared to take advantage of every opportunity coming their way.
For the group, that means predicting what the future holds to ensure they are always a step ahead. The key to “predicting the future” is working with the experts, and for the Etc. colleges and training providers that involves collaboration, collaboration, collaboration.
Group marketing and business engagement director, Erika Marshall, said: “Only by working in partnership with employers, industry leaders, and our local and combined authorities, to identify skills gaps and shortages, can we ensure we are ready to provide meaningful training that meets the ever-evolving needs of the economy and our communities.”
So, what has that meant in real terms for the college group in the development of further education and training that’s fit for future purpose? The answer is a lot when you reflect on developments over the last 18 months across the Etc. providers.
Stockton Riverside College has undergone a £2.8m transformation of its classrooms and workshops in health and social care, early years, bricklaying and motor vehicle, funded in part by the Department for Education’s T Level Capital Funding grant.
The campus in Thornaby now includes a brand-new hair and beauty salon and nail bar, with the latest industry-standard equipment and open to external clients, an ambulance bay and hospital ward complete with life-sized interactive mannequins that can simulate a medical emergency, a nursery and elderly living care zone.
The college’s motor vehicle workshop has more than doubled in size and incorporates some of the latest technology including a full electric car training rig and a radar and camera calibration kit.
At Bede Sixth Form students are now reaping the benefits of a brand-new £2.4m annexe, making room for more learners at the college in Billingham.
Primarily funded by the DfE’s Post-16 Capacity Fund, the annexe incorporates new classrooms and break-out spaces in a three-storey self-contained facility designed to compliment the existing building on Marsh House Avenue.
At Redcar and Cleveland College, a £3.3m investment in facilities, in part through the T Level Capital Funding grant, resulted in new workshops, high tech specialist engineering equipment, a revamped health care wing and early years nursery.
Then, of course, there is the £3.2m Clean Energy Education Hub, created to equip people with the skills needed for future green jobs and made possible with funding from the Town Deal Fund for Redcar.
The hub is crammed full of some of the latest technology needed to train people to meet the demands of the growing renewable and low carbon sector, including a simulated carbon capture training rig, designed and built to train the next generation of Net Zero engineers, and believed to be a UK college first.
Following such a massive transformation you might forgive the group for taking a breath, but the developments don’t stop there.
Plans have been unveiled for a new £14.7m purpose-built NETA Training centre in Thornaby to enhance the delivery of engineering and construction training in the borough, made possible with £4.5m from the Thornaby Town Deal Fund delivered in partnership with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council.
NETA will also head up a £4.7m All Access Academy announced at Redcar and Cleveland College, along with a new welding facility with funding from the Levelling Up partnership fund.
And the college is working with Hydrasun and fellow Tees Valley colleges on the development of a modular hydrogen refuelling facility, made possible with £286k hydrogen hub transport funding secured from the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority.
For Alfie, and students like him, the foresight for delivering training for future skills will no doubt put him a step ahead when he comes to join the jobs market. Indeed, as a bp scholar, Alfie and his classmates have already caught the attention of the industrial giant, which, when it comes to their employment prospects, can only be a good thing.
Now moving into their second year the scholars have spoken at employer forums, presentations and regional panel events about their ambitions, both for themselves and the Tees Valley. Alfie was even one of three scholars to meet the then Secretary of State for Education during a recent visit to the region.
“You shouldn’t say no to opportunities,” said the 17-year-old from Saltburn. “And I am getting so many opportunities as part of this course. I am over the moon.
“This is my future, if I don’t take up these chances now, I might regret it later in life. It’s all about getting a foot in the door.”
Education Training Collective rated Ofsted ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features
High praise from Ofsted is another great result for the colleges, students and staff, that make up the Education Training Collective (Etc.).
In its first full inspection since the merger of Stockton Riverside College and Redcar and Cleveland College, the group, which also includes Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training and The Skills Academy (Billingham), has been rated ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features.
The report, published today, describes a college group where students are “very proud to study” and they benefit from “a strong culture of positive respect”.
Group principal and chief executive, Phil Cook, said: “As a group our aim, above all else, is to provide high quality local colleges for local people. Gaining outstanding for leadership and management is a fantastic accolade for the group, but also and importantly for those stakeholders we work with; you do not achieve outstanding without excellent partnerships that have a direct impact on our students learning.”
The college group was also rated ‘Outstanding’ for behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and education programmes for young people, and rated ‘Good’ in all other areas. Phil added: “It is reasonable for parents, stakeholders and our communities to assume our provision for young people is now outstanding, as that’s what Ofsted has said and that is brilliant news. For other aspects of our provision such as our apprenticeships and our work with adults and high needs students, Ofsted has commended us and again our communities can be assured that such services are judged as being really really good.”
It also marks a milestone for Redcar and Cleveland College. The college had previously received an inadequate rating before merger, but in the view of Ofsted has been “transformed” and is now considered “the college of first choice” for many young people living in the borough.
Preparing to hand over the reins later this year, after nine years leading the college group, Phil said: “To deliver the service our communities deserve takes hard work and determination, from our staff, leaders, governing body and, of course, our amazing students, not least as we faced the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic.
“That’s why it is fantastic to now see our incredible teams, across the group, and our partners, receive external recognition.”
Inspectors also recognised the support that learners, of all ages and abilities, receive and the enrichment programme that “helps them to develop their wider employability skills, confidence, and resilience.”
There was further praise for the curriculum, which is shaped to meet local economy and skill demands while, working with specialist providers, the group is able to offer a “niche provision” giving people access to local jobs that would normally be out of reach.
The report said: “Students and apprentices benefit from useful and relevant training in their local communities which meets the needs of employers and the priorities of the local enterprise partnership.”
This has resulted in exciting projects in the pipeline, further supporting their local communities, such as the addition of Redcar’s Clean Energy Education Hub, plans to extend facilities at NETA Training and developments at Bede.
Chairman of the Etc. governing board, Mark White OBE DL, said: “As a board of governors we welcome this Ofsted result which is testament to the commitment of all our teams and the work they do to deliver for our communities.”
Retiring in the summer after 27 years on the boards of the colleges that make up the Etc., culminating in his current role as chair, Mark added: “I am extremely proud to have been a part of this incredible group of colleges, of everything it has achieved and everything it will go on to achieve in the future.”
NETA Training launches satellite scaffolding centre to tackle industry skills gap
NETA Training has launched a new satellite centre to help meet an increasing demand for scaffolding training.
The new facility, in South Bank, will offer a foot on the ladder to trainee scaffolders starting out in their new careers, while freeing up capacity for industry professionals to upskill and refresh their training.
NETA’s commercial training manager, Sean Johnston, said: “With a long history of delivering scaffolding training at NETA’s Stockton site, this an exciting opportunity to expand our capacity and, hopefully, assist in plugging the sector’s emerging skills gaps.”
Sean continued: “The scaffolding industry has been facing skills gaps, both locally and nationally, for some time due to issues such as an ageing workforce. This has been exacerbated by a shortage of training, with waiting lists impacted further in the last two years by the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Labour skills shortages were identified recently in a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), raising fears that, along with supply and transport issues affected by driver shortages, the skills gaps could impact on the wider construction industries.
Sean Johnston
An integral part of the building process, Sean said: “There’s lots of building work going on, as part of the government’s Build Back Better agenda, and scaffolders are essential to that.”
Welcoming the plans to expand NETA’s training capacity, Paul Ward, managing director of Swale Scaffolding Ltd, said: “There’s definitely a shortage of scaffolders, certainly in our area.”
For young ones, he said being out on site might not seem as appealing as working in a nice warm supermarket or warehouse, but he added: “It is a good career with plenty of opportunities to progress, certainly within this company. Every contract manager we have, started on the tools.”
Paul is quick to point out, it’s not just building sites that need scaffolders. He said: “Look at your Olympic and World Cup venues.”
Preferring to grow their own talent from the ground up, Swale Scaffolding Ltd has been working with NETA Training to upskill their workers for 20 years. He said: “Every year we have new starters coming through. Safety is a massive part of our business; we want people to be trained to do things the right way and so NETA expanding its capacity is brilliant for us.”
Offering the full suite of scaffolding courses and apprenticeship training at NETA’s Stockton site, accredited by CISRS, Sean explained the new satellite centre will increase training capacity by up to 58 scaffolders and 20 apprentices this year.
Situated at The Material Processing Institute on Eston Road, the 380 square metre facility will offer workshop space and classrooms to deliver entry level courses and training.
NETA’s commercial training manager, Sean, said: “We are really excited to be able to bring this additional facility to the Tees Valley, enabling us to meet the training needs of the scaffolding industry on Teesside and the wider area.
“With support from CISRS and industry employers, it’s magnificent to see the new site up and running, and to be able to play our part in offering a solution to a real industry challenge and hopefully help close the skills gap.”
For enquiries regarding NETA’s commercial courses email: info@neta.co.uk
Staff and students at the Education Training Collective (Etc.) have been sharing an insight into college life with a virtual visit from Ofsted.
Phil Cook, Chief Executive and Group Principal
With routine Ofsted inspections suspended due to the pandemic, inspectors have been carrying out interim visits to help learners, parents, employers and government understand how providers are currently meeting the needs of learners and apprentices.
During the two-day Etc. visit, inspectors heard how the group, which incorporates Stockton Riverside College, Redcar and Cleveland College, Bede Sixth Form College, NETA Training and The Skills Academy, has found ways to adapt to the changing circumstances, while ensuring welfare and safety remain a priority.
In a report published today, inspectors said: “Employers and other partner organisations are positive about senior leaders’ response to the challenges of the pandemic. They believe that relationships with college staff are at least as strong now as they were at the start of COVID 19 restrictions. Many partner organisations are optimistic about future collaboration to address local skills gaps.”
Inspectors met with Etc. leaders, managers, staff and learners from across the group in a series of online meetings. They heard how college leaders believed they had been able to “respond successfully to the challenges posed” and that the colleges had been “able to move swiftly into alternative ways of working, including online meetings and remote learning”.
As a result of those moves, student attendance and engagement has been positive, with staff feeding back that learners’ attendance at online sessions during the pandemic did not decline. Staff have gone on to develop their teaching practice to enable them to deliver remote learning sessions and identify when and where face-to-face learning is most essential.
Continuing to build on this new way of working, the report stated: “Teachers have adapted their timetables in response to the different demands of learners’ programmes.”
Chief Executive and Group Principal Phil Cook said: “We were happy to share with Ofsted our experiences of what has undoubtedly been an unprecedented period of challenge for all education providers.
“It is testament to the hard work and dedication of our whole team, including our students, to have inspectors recognise the enormous effort that has gone into ensuring learning has been disrupted as little as possible across the Etc. We have been amazed by the resilience and adaptability shown by all.”
Chairman of the Etc. Governing Board Mark White said: “The response of our leaders, staff and learners to the challenges COVID 19 has posed has been phenomenal. We are proud to see that the Ofsted report released today reflects this.”
With his sights set on a career as a welder, Aaron knows where he is headed.
Determined to develop the core skills he needs, including English and maths, he said: “You have to realise when you need to shape up.”
He is one of 14 pupils currently accessing Northfield School & Sports College’s inclusion base. Part of his motivation has come from a new alternate training programme being delivered in partnership with the Education Training Collective (Etc.).
The scheme offers the students who, for a whole host of reasons, no longer follow the school’s mainstream curriculum, the chance to try their hand at different vocational skills in a college or training environment.
For Aaron and his classmates that has included the choice of having a go, one day a week, at some basic engineering skills at Stockton’s NETA Training or hair and beauty sessions at The Skills Academy.
It was during the NETA workshops that the 15-year-old first tried welding. He said: “It seemed okay and not too stressful.” And as it turns out, he was pretty good at it too.
“This is why we created the programme,” said Etc.’s 14 to 16 Manager, Tracey Laycock. “It’s about offering our skills, expertise and facilities to help motivate and re-engage these young people.”
The bespoke programme at Northfield, builds on the school’s existing provision which in itself is helping to reduce the need for permanent exclusions.
Deputy Head Teacher, Gary Ankers, said: “We have had an inclusion base here for many years which is pretty rare in a secondary school. While it is not all about those with challenging behaviour, there are students accessing the provision who would have otherwise been at risk of permanent exclusion.”
He explained by removing the pressure of working to a full mainstream curriculum, the students can focus on developing core skills such as English, maths, IT and science. The addition of the bespoke Etc. programme has opened up further vocational sessions in subjects they wouldn’t typically be able to access.
The college group also provides a year-long personal development programme through The Prince’s Trust, delivered one day a week at The Skills Academy.
Northfield student Jay, 15, recognises the difference it could make to his future. With ambitions to one day become an architect, he said: “Things like NETA and The Prince’s Trust are stepping stones for us. At NETA we get to learn practical skills and then the Prince’s Trust is about working in a team, communicating and helping you develop as a person.”
Future pipefitter Bailey, 15, said: “It gives you a starting point, trying something different.” While 14-year-old Chay added: “It’s getting us ready for a working environment.”
Aiming to equip all of their students with the best skill set to maximise their future life chances, Northfield’s Deputy Head Teacher Gary said: “While GCSE grades are very important, they will never be the be all and the end all for all students and this programme is designed to reflect that. There are other skills our students need to develop, including ‘softer’ skills such as resilience and teamwork, and that is what we are doing here.”
For more details about Etc.’s bespoke alternative 14 to 16 provision which can be delivered in schools email: Tracey.Laycock@stockton.ac.uk
