Last week was the first of the Association of Colleges (AoC) two-week Colleges Week celebrations. Colleges Week is an annual campaign that highlights the fantastic work that goes on in Further Education colleges across the country. This year, each day of the first week celebrated a specific vocational area. Monday was Construction, Tuesday Digital, Wednesday Green Skills, Thursday Health and Social Care and Friday Hospitality and Catering.
These areas were chosen for the spotlight by the AoC because they are key sectors which FE colleges support. We asked our students studying in these areas what they thought of their course at Kirklees College and took the opportunity to share their thoughts as case studies across our social media channels on each themed day.
We also took the opportunity on Wednesday to highlight the work going on at college to promote Green Skills, including our work with the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges to embed the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our curriculum. As part of this, Director of Estates and Facilities Phil Sugden set up a student group to discuss the SDGs and has been attending meetings with the WYCC to talk about how we can make college a greener place, in alignment with our strategic goal of playing an influential role in combatting the climate emergency.
Our Higher Education and Higher Skills Graduation also took place during Colleges Week, on Tuesday 10 October. Speaking at the ceremony, Principal and CEO Palvinder Singh said:
“This week is the first week of Colleges Week, the Association of Colleges’ annual campaign to celebrate further education colleges. The focus of this week is on how colleges support local skills, labour markets and life chances and each day will highlight a different vocational area […]
Kirklees College is proud to offer vocational courses in all these areas and more and today is a celebration of where higher-level, vocation-based education can take you. Our graduates here today will leave Kirklees College equipped with vital practical and personal skills and knowledge needed to build the workforce in key sectors and make valuable contributions to society.”
The Principal’s comments in his speech emphasised the importance of Colleges Week and the AoC’s ongoing ‘Love our Colleges’ campaign, which seeks to promote the invaluable contribution of vocational education to society and the economy. We are proud to support Colleges Week every year and shout about the hard work of students and staff at Kirklees College, and all over the country.
To find out more about the AoC and the ‘Love our Colleges’ campaign, head to the Association of Colleges’ website.
