College Celebrates Success of Learning Partnership
An initiative to boost the skills of council employees in Telford has been celebrating a successful first 12 months.
City of Wolverhampton College joined forces with Telford & Wrekin Council a year ago to provide council staff with the chance to learn new skills.
The training partnership has been a big hit with staff, with dozens taking up the opportunity to study towards a qualification.
They include 20 Apprenticeships working in the Sports and Recreation department, who are working towards their NVQ Level 2 and 3 in Operational Services, Leisure Management and Activity Leadership.
A further 14 have gained qualifications in Literacy and Numeracy while maintenance staff have backed up their skills with a qualification in caretaking.
Business Admin staff throughout the council are also benefitting from the close partnership and are boosting their qualifications by gaining an NVQ.
Clerical Assistant Mandy Jones enrolled on an NVQ Level 3 in Business Admin through the programme.
She said: “It’s great to have achieved a qualification related to the work that I do on a daily basis and is proof to employers of my skills.
“Nowadays employers look for these sort of qualifications and it’s a criteria on a lot of job specifications - you don’t get anywhere without them.”
Workforce Development Manager Karen Riley said: “We are delighted with the success of our partnership with Telford and Wrekin council and look forward to rolling out more qualifications in the future.
“This initiative has been a great boost to council employees, who can now access a wide range of skills training to enhance their role in the council by either increasing their skill base or by developing their existing knowledge.”
Councillor Stephen Burrell, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People for Telford & Wrekin Council, has commended the Learning Partnership Scheme.
He said, “I’m very proud to be a member of a council that places great importance in the development of its employees. The opportunities that the scheme provides will ensure members of staff gain new skills and knowledge, which will no doubt aid them throughout their career progression, and also help them to become even more efficient and effective within their professional roles as ambassadors for the councils, and excellent public service providers.”
