13 April 2011

Colleges Invest in Welsh Skills

ColegauCymru / CollegesWales is creating a new senior post to increase the Welsh language skills that colleges and their students as well as employers are demanding.

The post, a Director of Bilingualism, is the latest in a string of developments aimed at enabling further education colleges to build their capacity to offer Welsh-medium skills’ provision.

Led by ColegauCymru, all FE colleges have adopted a National Strategy for Bilingualism in Further Education. Over the course of 2010, ColegauCymru supported colleges in putting the Strategy into action with bespoke solutions, reflecting the different needs of their local communities.

In addition, ColegauCymru has been working closely with the Welsh Assembly Government and the Welsh Language Board to improve the measuring and monitoring of Welsh-medium skills development without adding more red tape.

Now, ColegauCymru is creating a dedicated post to ensure that colleges’ efforts are supported at national, regional and local levels. Key tasks for the Director of Bilingualism include:

• improving the availability of qualifications through the medium of Welsh
• building the capacity of teachers to teach through the medium of Welsh in the post-14 and post-16 education sector especially in vocational and technical areas of expertise
• helping learners to continue to develop their Welsh language skills when they progress from one type of provider to another.

Chief Executive of ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, John Graystone, said: “Colleges across Wales are showing their strong commitment to developing a bilingual nation. Every year colleges develop more resources and deliver more courses through the medium of Welsh and bilingually both to their own students and also to school pupils through their school link partnerships. In addition, they readily embraced the recent opportunity to apply for financial support to employ one of four new Bilingual Champions for further education.”

Progressing from school to college, from college to university and from college into the workplace is a key issue for learners who wish to develop their Welsh language skills.

Dr Graystone continued: “The Director of Bilingualism will be tasked with working with all of the colleges’ key partners, including schools, higher education institutions and employers.

“Colleges have already started to work more closely with the higher education sector and I’m delighted that the new Board of Directors of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol includes two appointments from the further education sector. I would like to congratulate the eleven learners from further education colleges who have been successful in their applications for the first tranche of scholarships offered by the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol to study through the medium of Welsh at Higher Education Institutions.

“The further education sector is well known for its resourcefulness and flexibility. The Director of Bilingualism is a landmark post that forms part of the further education sector’s response to the need to improve Welsh-medium and bilingual education and training.”
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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 8384 or 07968 771913.

Notes to editors:

1. ColegauCymru / CollegesWales was previously called fforwm. It is a national educational charity that represents all 21 further education (FE) colleges and institutions in Wales. Its mission is to raise the profile of further education with key decision-makers to improve opportunities for learners in Wales. For further information about ColegauCymru / CollegesWales, and the colleges it represents, visit www.colegaucymru.ac.uk or www.collegeswales.ac.uk

2. Further information and an application pack for the post of Director of Bilingualism are available from http://bit.ly/fwfg2x The deadline for application is 4 May 2011.

3. The National Strategy for Bilingualism in Further Education is available from http://www.collegeswales.ac.uk/en-GB/publications-24.aspx 

4. The Welsh Assembly Government has committed to providing financial support for the next three years for the appointment of four Bilingual Champions at the following colleges:

• Yale College Wrexham
• Coleg Ceredigion
• Coleg Glan Hafren/Barry College/YMCA Community College/WEA(S)
• Coleg Gwent

5. The successful candidate will work closely with all of the Bilingual Champions and with the Sgiliaith Centre which offers training and development support on bilingualism to Further Education colleges.

6. Appointments to the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol Board of Directors include Dr Ian Rees, Vice Principal of Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, and Linda Wyn, Vice Principal of Coleg Menai.

7. The list of successful applicants to the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol scholarships is available from http://bit.ly/hIxn2g