Cheshire College – South & West’s Principal and CEO Jasbir Dhesi OBE attended an exclusive reception at Downing Street earlier this month.
The event was hosted by Lord Lingfield, Chairman of the Council for the Chartered Institute for Further Education (FE), where a group of hand-picked leaders in FE came together from across the country to celebrate the work being carried out across the sector to respond to the skills need in the UK.
According to an Employer Skills Survey published by the government in September 2023, more than a third (36%) of all vacancies in 2022 were skill-shortage vacancies; in which employers judged an employee to lack full proficiency for their role.
Principal Dhesi’s meeting with Lord Lingfield was in recognition of his outstanding contributions to education and Cheshire College’s continued commitment to addressing the skills need under his leadership.
On Cheshire College’s role in closing the skills gap, Dhesi commented: “Our goal has always been for students to enter the world of work equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in their industry of study. We have significantly invested in new facilities across our Crewe, Ellesmere Port and Chester sites, and this will enable students to experience the latest, cutting-edge technologies widely used by today’s employers.”
Cheshire College’s latest facilities include a £150K hospital training ward at Crewe Campus, which provides a realistic working environment and state-of-the-art training equipment for Health & Social Care students.
Ellesmere Port Campus recently completed construction on a £680K on-site sustainable house, featuring the latest in green technologies, such as ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic solar panels.
The Construction & Engineering department has also benefitted from a £10M+ investment, obtaining resources such as 3D printers, CAD equipment, robotics, and a new motor-vehicle workshop which can service electric and hybrid vehicles.
Cheshire College is also set to benefit from a £6M investment as part of Cheshire and Warrington Institute of Technology. This prestigious project will equip young people with the technical skills they need in priority areas such as advanced manufacturing, digital and cyber security, health and life sciences, construction, science and maths.
Cheshire College are now accepting applications for September 2024 for those interested in studying a diverse range of subjects, designed to provide students with combined skills and knowledge that will fully prepare them for the next exciting stage of their life.
Visit www.ccsw.ac.uk to find out more.