Future Excellence: the ‘must have’ for colleges
“Future Excellence”, the ColegauCymru / CollegesWales annual conference on 26 May in Cardiff, could not be more timely. Skills shortages, college mergers, WorldSkills London 2011, two independent reports on further education in Wales, and a new Assembly with greater powers will form the backdrop to challenging speeches and engaging workshops.
Key conference speakers will include:
- the new Welsh Assembly Government Minister for Education who will be expected to set out a vision for education and training for the new Assembly term
- Huw Jones, Deputy Chair of the Wales Employment and Skills Board, whose reports on the skills needs of businesses including Welsh language skills need to acted upon swiftly
- Marion Plant OBE, Principal of North Warwickshire and Hinckley College whose college has been highly successful in mentoring learners through to international skills competitions including WorldSkills
- Andrew Goodall, chief executive of the Aneurin Bevan NHS Board, which has been through a major restructuring with important lessons for the college sector
Dr John Graystone, Chief Executive of ColegauCymru said: “I am delighted with the senior line-up of key speakers at the ‘Future Excellence’ conference. Colleges are committed to continually raising standards and exploring new ways to improve their responsiveness to the communities they serve. The Welsh Assembly Government has acknowledged that colleges have managed a series of challenging budgets and calls to transform the post-16 education and training sector highly effectively.
“So far so good. But it doesn’t stop there. Independent reports commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government have called for even more college mergers, still more collaborations with a wide range of partners, and a new model of college governance.
“For the sake of their learners and their local communities as well as the wider economy, ‘future excellence’ is a ‘must-have’ for colleges. Colleges have to plan for major structural change and deliver high quality job-ready skills in a fast moving economy to hundreds of thousands of learners at all ages from 14 years upwards and all levels from basic literacy to degrees and professional qualifications.”
Dr Graystone concluded: “The conference speakers both from the platform and in the workshops will I’m certain be challenging and inspiring, and the discussions that will begin at the conference are expected to lead to real changes in colleges and their partner bodies.”
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Contact: Sylvia Davies on 029 2052 2500.
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. The conference will be held on 26 May 2011 at the Hilton Hotel, Cardiff.
3. The conference programme and registration form are available from: http://www.collegeswales.ac.uk/en-GB/annual_conference_2011-33.aspx