New college backs call for work ready youngsters

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MANY young people are not adequately prepared for the workplace – and Warrington’s new university technical college is backing a call from the British Chambers of Commerce that stronger links must be forged between educators and business.
A new BBC workplace survey has shown that 88 per cent of businesses overwhelmingly feel that many young people are not prepared for the workplace – with 76 per cent blaming a lack of work experience.
Catherine Collier, principal of University Technical College Warrington (UTCW) – due to open in September next year – said “This report clearly shows that employers are crying out for young people who are ‘work-ready’.
“Working with employers in the region, we will be preparing our young people to be successful employees of the future. Our students will be working closely with our employer partners from day one, to ensure they become skilled, qualified and experienced.
“They will follow a curriculum designed and delivered in conjunction with employers to ensure the students experience realistic challenges and produce innovative solutions.
“In addition to work experience placements, they will work on real-life projects, created and assessed by employers, in workshops that will be based on real working environments with industry standard equipment.“
John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “This isn’t about pointing the finger at young people – it is a joint responsibility between businesses, the education system and Government to provide the right skills and support that young people need to make it in the world of work.
“It is vital that we proactively build a pipeline of young talent who will go on to become the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs, as failure to do so could damage the UK’s future growth prospects and risk a lost generation of young people.”
UTCW is a Government funded college, sponsored by the University of Chester and supported by Warrington Borough Council.
Its aim is to offer 14-19 year olds the opportunity to integrate technical, practical and academic learning in a way that just isn’t possible in a traditional school environment.
It has already secured the backing of 35 local employers including Sellafield Ltd, the Boulting Group, Atkins, Nuvia, AMEC, Tenet Consultants and Flamefast.


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Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.

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