WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has awarded full marks to the team leading the re-invention of vocational training at Pershore College to meet the needs of local employers.
Warwickshire College Group has undergone a significant shift in ambition since the appointment of Sara-Jane Watkins as chief executive, and the MP welcomed news that the college has secured £4.8 million from the Department for Education to provide construction course places for 275 students.
The money will allow it to develop a currently disused building into a new state-of-the-art construction academy, alongside a new apprenticeships centre.
Pershore College has already seen a major revamp of its training facilities for people studying hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy courses and the MP recently toured the site with neighbouring MP Nigel Huddleston and attended a jobs fair for local employers.
Dame Harriett said: “With employers reporting chronic skills shortages, Pershore College is at the forefront of the current renewed focus on vocational learning and apprenticeships
“Given the housing developments that are sprouting up across the county, it is essential that we have a local construction workforce that can provide those skills and reap the economic benefit.
“The Pershore campus, which used to be world-renowned as a horticulture training centre, is now being improved to offer a much wider range of courses for many different sectors, from agricultural training to IT.
“I have been really impressed with Sara-Jane Watkins and her ambition, and this latest funding win is proof that, under new leadership, Warwickshire College Group has an exciting future.”