Today saw New College Stamford open an Information Centre for Skills and Training on Stamford High Street.

We were delighted that Stamford Mayor, Cllr Maureen Jalili took the time from her busy schedule to officially open the Centre.

In these challenging times we now hope that the local community will seize upon the endless opportunities that education and training can provide.

Another busy week-that began with the news that building projects at 79 further education colleges in England had been halted because of a funding review. It's an obvious disappointment to all at New College Stamford as we have progressed so far with our plans to become the UK's first eco-College.

Despite this news I would like to believe that our plans for well on track. We have been told that the capital development of New College Stamford remains in a positive situation and we are in regular contact with LSC officials, MPs and consultants who are fully behind our property strategy. We have full planning permission, no land disposals and are ready for work to begin.

However, it was as a result of the current situation the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) chairman Mark Haysom said in a statement this week that he was stepping down because of "well-publicised difficulties" with the building programme. New College Stamford is one of 79 Colleges currently waiting for the green light from the LSC to begin new capital projects and we have heard today that this decision will be made in April. There may now be a delay to the start of our new eco-build as LSC officials and partners review all projects but this does not adversely affect our plans, learners, staff and partners.  Some colleges have proceeded at risk – fortunately New College Stamford is not one of them.

In fact, New College Stamford is in a solid and secure position. The College is financially sound and is recognised by the LSC as a category "A" College of Further and Higher Education. Full time applications to the College are up by nearly 20% and we will continue to enhance and develop our services and facilities. For example, we have recently opened an Information and Advice Shop in Stamford High Street and are set to open the New College Stamford "Working" Farm, off Ryhall Road in the Summer. The capital projects issue will not affect our regular operations.

I read in this weeks press that Shadow skills secretary David Willetts said that ultimate responsibility for the problems with the building programme lay with ministers. Mr Willetts was supported by Liberal Democrat Shadow Innovation, Universities and Skills Secretary, Stephen Williams who said:

"It is ministers who raised expectations by announcing that capital projects would be brought forward.  Colleges worked to meet these expectations and now face serious financial strains and uncertainty over whether the building programme will ever get going.The Government must act now to ensure that this important programme gets moving again."

We too have worked to ensure that everything is ready to go so I'm not overly concerned who is responsible for the current position as long as we work together to remedy it. We will then ensure that the future for New College Stamford and its stakeholders continues to be very bright indeed.

According to top entrepreneur Sir Alan Sugar "apprenticeships will give businesses the kind of motivated 'doers' they need to succeed in the current economic climate.

However, Sir Alan may have to temporarily modify this opinion after ten celebrities tackled his toughest challenge yet in a special Comic Relief edition of the Apprentice is screened this week

New College Stamford special envoy Ruby Wax led the ladies team of Patsy Palmer, Carol Vorderman, Fiona Phillips and businesswoman Michelle Mone as they went head-to-head with Alan Carr, Jack Dee, Jonathan Ross, Gok Wan and businessman Gerald Ratner in a battle to create a special mystery product for Comic Relief. With just three days to invent, brand and market something original, tempers fray and egos are bruised as the task unravels and one team comes unstuck and a "variety" of skills are on show!

A more pragmatic view of The Apprentice revealed that the number of young people and adults starting a "real" apprenticeship increased significantly last year as employers have recognised how investing in apprentices can benefit their business during the downturn and beyond. I read the newspapers with added interest this week as leading figures supported the apprenticeship scheme:

"Success is all about finding the right people to make your business grow – especially in these challenging times. We want as many employers as possible to find out how apprentices are real doers, making things happen and helping businesses grow and thrive." Announced Sir Alan Sugar

Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills John Denham said:

"Apprenticeships have been around for as long as people can remember but until quite recently they had all but died out or were only available in traditional trades. In the last ten years we have revived apprenticeship numbers. Today there are triple the number of apprentices than in 1997 and they span the breadth of the economy from dry-stone walling to veterinary science and even nuclear decommissioning. In these tough economic times, Apprenticeships can continue to play a pivotal role in the economy – helping to build a company's resilience."

For me it's quite simple. Better-educated and skilled young people are vital to the future economic prosperity of this country. Apprenticeships give young people a clear path to a job and the skills they need to succeed in the workplace. Ambitious young apprentices can bring real benefits to companies and businesses. I'm delighted that so many local businesses now employ apprentices through New College Stamford but there's still more to do and still plenty of opportunities to become an apprentice or employ one.

On a separate note I've heard a whisper that the Comic Relief event may see Ruby lead the girl's team to an emphatic victory after much unnecessary skulduggery and in fighting by the boys!  Whatever the result I hope the show will give a fresh impetus to anyone who would like to learn new skills to come along to New College Stamford, realise their potential and begin training today for their future tomorrow.

More than 130,000 employers currently employ apprentices across the UK and for those who are really looking to shape a brighter future New College Stamford offer have a number of Apprenticeships available in vocations such as Business Administration, Customer Service, Retail, IT User, Motor Vehicle, Brickwork, Carpentry and Joinery (Wood Occupations), Health and Social Care, Teaching Assistant/Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools, Hairdressing, Hospitality and Catering/Multi Skilled, Professional Cook/Food and Drink Service and Beauty Therapy.

All in all despite the immediate bleakness of the current economic situation there's never been a better time to prepare for the upturn than right now!

It's been an exciting few days for everyone associated with New College Stamford. We had cause for a double celebration today when the College received the prestigious AoC Beacon Award for our excellent school partnerships and opened our superbly equipped Ryhall Rd Construction Training Facility.

Our special day saw local and regional business "movers and shakers" in attendance and was opened by John Milner, Principal Director AQA, the UK's largest Awarding Body for A-levels, GCSEs and other qualifications. John set the scene with an entertaining presentation that highlighted the importance of the UK Skills Agenda in the current challenging global arena. John was complemented by the words of the AoC East Midlands' Chief Executive Jennie Gardiner who went on to explain the significance of College's contribution to skills and the economy. Jennie was most complimentary about the new facilities at New College Stamford and was keen to point out that vocational training should be seen as viable option for any learner.

The day was ended with a bang from Bill Newton Dunn, MEP for the East Midlands. (He pressed the button for our eco-fireworks!) Bill also made some interesting and valid points and one stood out more than most. Bill had recently visited Silicon Valley in California. For those of you who don't know Silicon Valley is the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area and originally referred to the region's large number of silicon chip innovators and manufacturers, but eventually came to refer to all the high-tech businesses in the area. Despite the development of other high-tech economic centers throughout the United States, Silicon Valley continues to be the leading high-tech hub because of its large number of engineers and venture capitalists.

Anyway, Bill was curious as to what made Silicon Valley so appealing...aside from the warmth of San Francisco sunshine he pondered "why had the region become so special?" The answer he discovered was quite simple...San Francisco had become a centre of specialist knowledge and skills. Bill then asked why couldn't Lincolnshire...or anywhere else for that matter...become a "Valley" type environment? Okay, Lincolnshire is universally flat and Valleys are few and far between but there is no reason why we cannot collectively create the knowledge and skills that a successful economy craves.

It is the provision of dedicated resources and facilities to create such a "Skills Centre" that drives all those associated with New College Stamford. It's not just the provision of retraining opportunities that motivates us either. It's true that learning new skills and retraining can lead to a refreshing career change, but it's also important to realise that employees with transferrable skills are often seen as the biggest assets to employers. A small investment in learning new skills will make you better prepared to tackle any eventuality, particularly in a tough economic climate...so why not give it a try?

There is so much going on in around New College Stamford its become vital that we have a forum to share and update on developments that affect us all. I hope to use this BLOG to provide the very latest developments about our exciting new eco build and the current opportunities available in training and education. By the way if you have yet to see the latest architect's animated fly-through…follow the link at the bottom of this page.

Unfortunately, I cannot avoid the fact that it' s been a challenging few months for not only local and national businesses but that of the global economy. There has never been a greater need for Colleges of Further Education to ensure that we are ready to respond to the education and training needs of our local community and beyond.

Recent studies have shown that those people made redundant or who fear for the future of their jobs are at the forefront of the drive to upgrade skills. A fifth of UK adults surveyed this week stated that they now intend to gain further qualifications in 2009-that's over 8 million people planning to "skill up" in 2009. People are returning to education and training in their thousands. Many colleges are already reporting increased enrolments and interest in our last Open Evening brought the roads of Stamford to a virtual standstill. Some 8.4 million people have switched career in the past three years and that 3.2 million workers aim to do so in the New Year. The economic situation will trigger people to reassess their situation and make bold decisions. It is now worth asking yourself the question are you ready to make such a change ? If so we are and ready to help.

Colleges are not just a foundation of the country's economy, but also an investment in the nation's future.  The Government will invest £4.7 billion in further education and training this year and the contribution of past and present learners who have studied at the colleges over the past 15 years added approximately £28 billion in income to the national economy in 2007/08 alone.

However, the socio-economic benefits extend beyond benefiting local economies through purchases, staff wages and an improvement in learners' skills.  The effects of learning at colleges on reducing health, crime and unemployment problems means that for every qualification gained at a New College Stamford the taxpayer avoids paying approximately £89 in 'avoided social costs' – including savings to the NHS,  reduced expenditure for security and property damage as well as lower take up levels of Jobseekers Allowance.  

For every pound invested by Government in colleges such as ours, the taxpayer sees a return on investment of £1.70. The benefits of college learning also spread to individuals.  People who invest time and sacrifice short-term earnings to gain a college qualification can expect to see on average a 10% on their investment in the long term – more than the 6.25 % potentially gained by investing in the current leading ISA on the market.

It's for these reasons that we have worked hard over the last 12 months to realign and enhance the services and facilities at New College Stamford so that we can provide the education and training that you and local business needs to survive and flourish. Our business development team is ready and waiting to hear from business across the region to help them. Don't forget many programmes may be heavily subsided or even free as we are able to get Government support to help you.

On a much brighter note you may have read elsewhere that the plans for our £41 million new eco build have been approved by the lsc and plans are now much, much closer to fruition. The redevelopment of New College Stamford will provide an exemplar of sustainability and will act as a massive regenerator bringing more benefits to the local and wider community.

We've also enjoyed greater success over recent weeks with the opening of state-of-the art new engineering, construction and motor vehicle training facilities at sites across Stamford. Last week we also received national recognition with the presentation of the AoC Beacon award for our partnerships with local schools and published the success rates of our students-which are second to none. For example;

94% of A/AS level students progress to University

97% Student pass rate

93% GSCE students achieve A-C grades

80% Vocational Course pass rate

I hope that people will trust in our track record of stability & outstanding success and be one of the additional 8 million people in the UK planning to "skill up" in 2009.

http://www.stamford.ac.uk/index.php/new-build-new-future

Miles