Business partners across Worcestershire are looking in to the possibility of applying for government funding to build a new college. Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Worcestershire County Council are working with five local businesses to establish the local need for building a university technical college (UTC).
UTCs are colleges that offer 14-19 year olds a different learning experience than traditional schools or colleges. They teach students technical and scientific subjects in a whole new way and are educating the inventors, engineers, scientists and technicians of the future. UTCs are smaller than traditional secondary schools, are not academically selective and charge no fees.
The reasons behind the UTC are to increase the advanced technical skills of the future workforce to enable the county to continue to prosper in the future with the highest growth sectors in the County including advanced manufacturing, IT, cyber security and defence and agri-tech.
Local businesses need a workforce that can develop new products, stretch and reuse existing resources and UTCs could provide the skilled workforce a range of industries. The council aims to ensure there is a diverse range of educational provision available for students and is supporting the UTC proposal as it provides that greater choice for Worcestershire’s young people.
Five local businesses are already involved in the project and have been supporting the development of Worcestershire’s funding bid by identifying the needs of their future workforce. Worcester Bosch, Malvern Instruments, Morgan Motor Cars, Yamazaki Mazak and QinetiQ are all supporting the UTC and hope that it will allow students to get a hands-on learning experience and expand their skills in areas which will be needed in the future.
Carl Arntzen, Managing Director for Worcester Bosch said: “Engineering is vital to the future economic prosperity of the UK and yet we have a real shortage of skilled, qualified engineers.
UTC’s are a new way of teaching 14 to 19 year olds technical and scientific subjects by integrating technical, practical and academic learning and by creating an environment in partnership with local employers to develop skills specifically needed by industry.
Worcester Bosch is highly supportive of this concept and is delighted to be supporting the project to develop a UTC here in Worcestershire.”
Paul Walker, Managing Director of Malvern Instruments said: “The UK needs a world-class manufacturing sector if it is to compete effectively in today’s global marketplace. To do this it will need many more highly trained engineers and technologists to drive the innovation and growth upon which success will ultimately depend.
One of the best ways of providing the education and training to 14 – 19 year olds who want a career in the manufacturing sector is through UTC’s. This will offer young people the opportunity to achieve their academic potential in an environment that will equip them with the real life experience and practical knowledge of the industry that will give them the best possible start.
Malvern Instruments believe that the creation of a UTC here in Worcestershire will be a key success factor in helping develop the local manufacturing economy and the project has our full support and engagement.”
Nick Jeacock, Managing Director TTB Supplies (cleaning products and innovation) said: “Technology is vital to the future economic prosperity of small business, we currently run an apprenticeship scheme and require varied skills.
UTC’s are a new way of teaching 14 to 19 year olds technical and scientific subjects by integrating technical, practical and academic learning and by creating an environment in partnership with local employers to develop skills specifically needed by industry.
TTB Supplies is highly supportive of this concept; I came through a similar system many years ago I would be delighted to support a project to develop a UTC here in Worcestershire.”
The UTC Worcestershire project is keen to get initial thoughts and feedback from young people, parents/carers and local businesses to help identify the need for a UTC. They are keen to know if the school would be something that young people and parents/carers would be interested in attending, and if local businesses could provide the support needed to shape the subjects being taught.
Gary Woodman, Executive Director at the LEP said: “We’re keen to hear from local businesses about what they think of having a UTC in Worcestershire and who would like to get involved or finding out more.
Businesses could be involved in a variety of ways – from offering hands-on work experience placements to guest lecturing, mentoring or helping to develop a curriculum to up-skill and shape their future workforce.”
The Worcestershire LEP is discussing the possibility of the UTC in partnership with Bosch Thermotechnology, Mazak, Malvern Instruments, QinetiQ, Morgan Cars, and Worcestershire County Council along with a number of other local partners.
A feedback survey and more information can be found on the Worcestershire County Council website and is open until the end of July. For more information on the UTC for parents and carers, click here, and for more information on the UTC for local businesses, click here.
Information and updates can also be found on Facebook by searching UTC Worcestershire or on Twitter @UTCworcs