FUTURISTIC TRAINING KEY TO DEVELOPING NEXT GENERATION SKILLS
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Today, tomorrow’s leaders are learning skills of the future at Education Partnership North East (EPNE), a dynamic partnership between Sunderland College, Hartlepool Sixth Form College and Northumberland College.
With more than £90 million invested across the group’s facilities in the last six years, and more to come, CONTACT speaks to chief executive Ellen Thinnesen about how the North East’s largest regional group is working to stay one step ahead of industry to ensure students leave with the skills and experience to drive the future economy.
Walk around any of Education Partnership North East’s (EPNE) six campuses, and you will see transformational development projects underway.
Across all its sites – spanning Northumberland in the north of the region, to Hartlepool in the south – there
have been significant programmes of investment.
Some have been cosmetic – creating the most aspirational learning environment possible – but for the
most part, the changes taking place across the college’s estate have been driven by a desire to deliver the most advanced training available, that will drive future-focused skills to help level up the region.
“When visitors see our resources, they often comment on how business-like our campuses are – how the facilities feel like a real work environment,” says chief executive Ellen Thinnesen, who has been at the helm of the college group since 2016.
“And that’s critical. We want students to get the most authentic training possible – whether they’re studying for
a technical qualification or an academic route.
“Further education should prepare them for their next career steps.
“We can only do that if we not only prepare them for the industry of today, but for the changes that are coming down the line.
“And that means tight relationships with employers, so we are absolutely on top of what’s changing – and indeed, moving in lockstep with emerging trends that are disrupting industry, so we adapt our training in a really agile way.
“We are deeply focused on the labour market – we have to understand how it is going to change in the North East and what the requirements of businesses will be, so we can ensure the talent pipeline we create is absolutely aligned.”
Among the areas of focus at EPNE is delivering digitally-enhanced learning – using technology to take training to the next level and keep pace with the speed at which it is permeating every single sector.
“This is something we’re really passionate about,” says Ellen.
“There can be little doubt that IT, and the enhanced capability it provides, is cutting through almost every industry, from healthcare to communications, and engineering to architecture.
“And that means that every young person who leaves school, college or university has to be a digital citizen ready to utilise tech in whatever sector they move in to; equally our adult students need to keep pace with digital developments in the workplace too.
“This is why we embed digital into our training so students leave us digitally equipped and can apply these skills within their chosen industry.
“And we also use tech to enhance the quality of our training.
“At Sunderland College, we’ll soon be opening a new immersive space – part of a £3 million capital programme – that will simulate a range of digital environments to enable our T Level students to train in a space that, for instance, might feel like a factory or a hospital.
“We want it to feel authentic, and to bridge the gap between education and industry.”
Perhaps the most telling signs of the group being focused on the future are recent investments in spaces that will support the development of emerging eco-systems within the North East.
The college is set to play a key role in driving the skills base needed to support Nissan EV36Zero, a £1 billion electric vehicle eco-system that will create and secure thousands of jobs across the region.
EPNE has secured £1.3 million to deliver improved facilities at Sunderland College’s City Campus, that will allow the group to deliver training around green technology, ensuring the skills pipeline is strong.
Ellen says: “We are really passionate about the role education can play in the economic development of this region, and we’ve recently been working with Ford Next Generation Learning (NGL), Edge Foundation and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership to embed new approaches to teaching that have transformed outcomes in Nashville, in the US, and that we know can do the same for us in the North East.
“The approach relies on those close working relationships with local employers and community partners and experiential learning, and that’s what we will be developing to support the region’s EV hub and ensure that Envision AESC – the company that is leading the development of a £450 million gigafactory to drive EV36Zero – has the skills base it needs to drive the growth of automotive in the future.”
And, just as EPNE will be at the cutting-edge of advanced manufacturing of cars, the group is also set to blaze a trail when it comes to skills for modern methods of construction.
Sunderland City Council, EPNE and the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education have secured funding from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund that will see the development of a Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA), a groundbreaking facility that will educate, train and upskill local people to create innovative factory-built new homes, the first of which will be assembled at Riverside Sunderland.
Ellen adds: “HICSA is really innovative.
“Just like Nissan EV36Zero, this is about powering the green revolution, that we know will create sustainable opportunities for our young people, as well as advancing the agenda of the region – and indeed the country – when it comes to building homes using modern methods of construction that are faster to construct and deliver exemplary quality and energy efficiency standards.
“This is about future-proofing our young people and supporting existing employees – ensuring they have the skills
that will power the economy of tomorrow and we’re thrilled to be able to advance this important agenda and play a part in building a green future for our region.
“Today, we’re thinking about tomorrow, trying to stay one step ahead and absolutely focused on the industries that will prosper – and the skills they will need – in the future.
“Our role is to ensure that it is our students who are able to step forward and be the leaders of tomorrow, thanks to the skills they’re developing right now at EPNE.”