The new multi-campus college for Bath and North East Somerset will focus on creating the skills to meet the demand of the labour market, it’s been announced.
City of Bath College Principal Matt Atkinson says the merger with Norton Radstock College will help to raise the employability skills of young people whilst making a positive contribution to business growth and economic regeneration.
There will be an emphasis on putting the students first as the quality improvement team works hard to raise standards.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills identified the merger as the best possible option following Norton Radstock’s inadequate Ofsted inspection.
Matt is confident they can turn things around by using their proven track record of transforming City of Bath College into a good college will outstanding features.
He said: “We are creating a bigger and better College that will match the local talent to local jobs.
“Our main priority will be to focus on the student experience and ensuring what’s going on in the classrooms is of the highest quality.
“We will continue to focus on quality and I’m confident we have the expertise to deliver a multi-campus college with a strong emphasis on work-ready skills.
“We’re creating a new vision and we’re committed to improving the educational and employment outcomes for all our students.”
The new college will provide vocational and educational training for more than 3,000 full-time students and around 10,000 part-time students across the broadest range of subjects.
Staff will work closely with employers to match their workforce needs to the courses on offer.
Matt said: “We’re really looking at what the community wants from its new college.
“We’ve already got two campuses with great facilities so we will build on that by directly responding to the diverse needs of the community.
“The new college really will benefit everyone.”
The merger, which was announced in December, will see the dissolution of the governing body of Norton Radstock College, and all assets and liabilities being transferred to City of Bath College.
The long term strategy of the merged college will see the Norton Radstock site focussing on skills for the manufacturing, engineering, construction and land-based sectors.
The Radstock campus will also become the new college’s head office, increasing the number of employees working at that site.
Matt said: “I am deeply committed to making sure the Norton Radstock campus becomes an integral part of the new College.
“We are going to re-brand and create a college with two campuses of equal status.”
