Bournemouth & Poole College is pleased to join the Collab Group of Colleges as their newest member. The college becomes the fourth to join Collab Group in just over a month.
Collab Group is a forward-thinking membership organisation representing leading Colleges and College Groups who collaborate at a local and national level. Working with a wide range of stakeholders to develop sustainable professional and technical skills, they collaborate with business, government, and the skills sector to transform the productive capacity of the UK economy.
Bournemouth & Poole College has a well-earned reputation for delivering high-quality provision across the South Coast of England. Operating across three campuses and delivering teaching and learning to over 11,000 students, the college has very strong local links with the Dorset LEP, businesses and local organisations, thereby ensuring that it is able to meet the skills needs of the local economy.
Bournemouth & Poole College’s curriculum focus is broadly spread and includes engineering, digital and IT, health and social care and construction. The college has ambitions to create an Institute of Technology focused on aerospace and has invested £28 million into its facilities including an innovative new STEM centre.
As the largest Apprenticeship provider in the region it delivers around 2200 apprenticeships with 800 new starts this year and is well placed to take advantage of the new reforms. The college has a strong employer focus and has relationships with 2,000 businesses, including Sunseeker International, Cobham Engineering, the NHS and Redweb (award winning digital marketing agency). It has also established a series of Employer Advisory Boards which meet 3 times a year.
Being locally-embedded, having excellent curriculum depth and a drive to innovate ensures that Bournemouth & Poole College will be a welcome addition to the Collab Group network of colleges. We look forward to working with Bournemouth & Poole College to advocate for the interests of large, commercial focussed colleges. They will be a great addition and we are delighted to welcome them to Collab Group.
Ian Pretty, CEO of Collab Group, said: “I am delighted that Bournemouth & Poole College has joined Collab Group. The college has demonstrated, through investment in modern campus facilities and partnerships with local business, determination to be an innovator in the delivery of quality and effective learning provision. The college has received recognition for the quality of its apprenticeship provision and high student satisfaction rates. Working with such a strong college will strengthen the Collab Group network, whilst increasing the geographical reach of our dynamic college network.”
Diane Grannell, principal and chief executive of Bournemouth & Poole College commented: “By developing students with the knowledge and skills that employers need, Bournemouth & Poole College plays a big role in the delivery of a thriving local economy. We are really pleased to have joined Collab Group as it will open both new growth opportunities and identify how we can more effectively implement the Government’s skills education agenda. This is particularly pertinent at time when funding is tight across the sector resulting in colleges needing to seek out new sources of income.”