Education
Training is the key to sustained growth in your business
Gerry Campbell, Colleges Northern Ireland chief executive, encourages local companies to invest in training as key to growing their business.
C
olleges Northern Ireland is the membership body representing all six of our regional Colleges ‑ Belfast Metropolitan College; Northern Regional College; North West Regional College; South Eastern Regional College; Southern Regional College; and South West College.
These Colleges represent a significant sector in the economy, employing over 4,100 highly skilled and motivated frontline lecturers with a turnover of £250 million a year. However, the value of the Colleges to Northern Ireland goes far beyond that. They are Northern Irelandʼs main provider of technical, vocational and professional training and education and provide essential progression routes to employment and for workforce development.
Colleges are critical to Northern Irelandʼs future
There are also critical links between the colleges and schools and universities and between the colleges and local businesses and communities. These are the fundamental progression routes that will help Northern Ireland deliver the skills that are vital to economic growth. However, there is now a greater recognition that for the economy to
develop and grow, there needs to be a sustained investment in training and skills. With over £340 million of capital investment over the past 15 years in a modern college estate and industry standard facilities, we now have a world class sector that is focused on helping people into employment, in meeting the training needs of local companies and in supporting economic growth. The six Colleges are at the heart of delivering training ‒ training in all shapes and sizes which is responsive to the demands of local, national and international employers. And that is a key challenge to our employers, to engage with the Colleges so that they can understand exactly what is available and in turn, to support the Colleges in understanding the needs of companies and businesses today, and tomorrow.
The value of training
It is vital that local companies invest in their strongest asset, their people. Apprenticeships remain a gold standard. But employers also need to see the benefits that apprentices can bring to organisations through relevant skills, loyalty, high quality and greater productivity. A recent report from the National Audit Office
(NAO) has shown that for every £1of public money invested in apprenticeships, the return to the economy is £18. Yet the UK and Northern Ireland in particular does not have a high level of apprentices.
Apprenticeships work for both businesses and individuals ‒ providing companies with a skilled workforce to help them grow and giving people of all ages hands‑on experience, guidance and qualifications, to help them develop real skills in their chosen career. Not only will these apprenticeships inject a much‑needed financial boost into our struggling economy, but they will also help tackle the current unemployment levels and ensure that businesses have the skills they need for their future growth. Your local College will work with you to identify what training or other direct support they can provide. If you havenʼt visited your local College recently then you donʼt know what you are missing out on. For details of what your local further education college can do for your business: tel: 028 9068 2296 email:
info@collegesni.ac.uk visit:
www.collegesni.ac.uk follow: @CollegesNI
Northern Ireland’s Colleges deliver
• Over 155,000 mainly professional, technical and vocational enrolments through further and higher education programmes to almost 115,000 students annually o Almost 7,000 Apprentices and Trainees o Over 11,000 Higher Education enrolments o Almost 25,000 Essential Skills enrolments (literacy, numeracy and ICT) o Up to 120,000 hours of college provision delivered into the post‑primary sector.
• Support for 7,500 businesses through training, bespoke programmes and direct support including Business Improvement Techniques, Open Source Solutions, Rapid Prototyping and Mentoring.
www.businessfirstonline.co.uk 36
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100