Each year Lewisham College works in close partnership with a
wide range of organisations in the private and public sectors to
exchange knowledge, share experience and develop programmes and
initiatives. Below are just a few examples.
Working with Employers
Lewisham College has a key role to play in providing local
businesses with the kinds of skills they require today. By building
strong employer partnerships, we can ensure that everyone in the
community benefits from the regeneration opportunities offered by
the 2012 Olympics and Thames Gateway.
The College remains one of the most successful training
providers involved in the Employer Training Pilot, a government
initiative to bring training to businesses that have not
traditionally invested in learning. To date, we have engaged over
2000 learners from 'hard to reach' organisations. Over 90% of these
have achieved their first Level 2 qualification, enhancing both the
learners' career opportunities and the employers' business
success.
We are also now delivering bespoke training programmes for a
range of employers, tailored exactly to their business needs and
culture, including a management-training programme for the
Metropolitan Police Service and an apprenticeship programme
training Paramount Restaurants' chefs of the future. In addition,
our Business Broker project, which develops mentoring relationships
between established and new businesses, has generated real interest
among our partners.
Higher Education
Lewisham College continues to deliver a number of successful and
innovative programmes in partnership with London South Bank
University, Canterbury Christchurch University College and the
University of Greenwich.
Working as part of Aspire, a regional and cross-sector
partnership, the College has continued to prioritise increased
progression to higher education.
Schools
Lewisham College made significant progress towards achieving its
aim of providing high quality vocational education to young people
from the age of 14 onwards and extended its offer of work-related
learning to every school in Lewisham and many in Greenwich.
We introduced and led a ground breaking project called DEOPS
(Developing Employment Opportunities in the Public Sector) where
local employers, schools and colleges create a clear vocational
route from 14 to higher education in order to equip young people
with the skills and ambitions to enter jobs in the public
sector.
Teaching
Our Teacher Training Unit (TTU) was one of only twenty providers
nationally commissioned by the DfES to pilot proposed reforms to
Initial Teacher Training (ITT). The DfES also selected the TTU to
participate in its Gold Dust project, identifying resources useful
for ITT from the Standards Unit's subject frameworks.
The TTU worked in partnership with Edge in devising a new Cert
Ed that's better suited to the needs of teachers supporting
practical learning. Plans are in place for the new award to be
validated by London South Bank University.
Community
Our LinkLearn part-time Finance course, delivered in partnership
with the 2000 Community Action Centre on the Pepys Estate and the
Target 3 Employment and Training Centre, enjoyed particular success
in 2005/06 as a significant number of refugees and low paid workers
were helped to develop their skills to improve their employment
prospects
Trade Union Studies
This year we successfully maintained the Information Advice and
Guidance Matrix Award for high quality guidance for trade union
learners. We also have Grade 1 OFSTED status for Unionlearn trade
union education.
Our Trade Union Studies Centre was awarded the OCR Beacon Award
for Partnerships in Basic Skills in association with HMP Belmarsh
and the Prison Officers' Association. The Centre was described as a
shining example of collaboration between educational institutions
and other organisations, which has raised the profile of workplace
learning.