OPINION: The Education column with Mike Welsh: East Riding College is bringing skills investment to Bridlington and region

Firstly, East Riding College, as part of the TEC Partnership will be one of the colleges involved in a new £65m flagship Government investment programme.

Twelve education providers across the Humber, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire are set to receive a multi-million pound boost as part of a successful bid to join the Skills Accelerator Programme.

The region has been granted a Strategic Development Fund (SDF) as part of the government’s pilot programme, which aims to respond to local priorities for skills and innovation.

This will include the development of courses that will provide the skills and education needed for future industries, particularly the use of new fuel technology, green energy, robotics, artificial intelligence and the latest electric vehicle maintenance.

TEC Partnership, of which East Riding College is part, is one of only 12 organisations in the country selected to lead a pilot.

Hailed as a once-in-a-generation transformation programme, it will bring together forward-thinking education providers from across our region to form the largest single collaborative skills initiative we have seen.

The TEC Partnership will lead a regional collaboration with partners including: University of Hull, Bishop Burton College, North Lindsey College (part of DN Colleges Group), Selby College, Franklin College, John Leggott College, Wilberforce Sixth Form College and Hull College.

The Strategic Development Fund will build on the recently announced Humber Freeport, the region’s offshore wind industry and the burgeoning green energy industry.

The Fund intends to work with the industry to develop higher level skills and job opportunities within the green economy and its supply chain.

This will be good for Bridlington, good for the area, good for employers and good for local people who want to train to a higher level, or retrain.

Secondly, I am delighted the TEC Partnership was also successful in its bid to take part in the first year of the Government’s new £110m Turing Scheme. East Riding College is on the list of schools, colleges and higher education providers who have been awarded funding that will mean up to 40,000 students from across the UK will be able to study abroad.

Catering and Hospitality and Beauty Therapy students from East Riding College will be invited to apply for a place on two study programmes in Thailand during the 2021/22 academic year.

The programmes will cover either Thai Cuisine or Thai Massage and students will also be given the opportunity to take part in enrichment activities, giving them life experiences that would never have been possible without the Scheme.

It’s a great boost for students entering the hospitality and personal care industries, which have been some of the hardest hit by the pandemic. For those individuals who take part, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit and study in Thailand – and gain more experience in their industries – giving them the edge as they embark on their careers.