‘STRONG’ START TO 2025 FOR HRUC

Jo Withers, Chief of Business Strategy at Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC), talks to Sarah Dale about the relationship between Further Education and the local business community and the college group’s recent glowing Ofsted report.

Harrow, Richmond & Uxbridge Colleges (HRUC) have started 2025 on a high.

Ofsted visited HRUC in November 2024, its first inspection since HCUC (Harrow College and Uxbridge College) merged with Richmond upon Thames College to form HRUC in January 2023.

Not only was HRUC rated Outstanding in two key criteria – Personal Development and Behaviour and Attitudes – and rated Good overall, but the college group was also rated Strong in Ofsted’s Enhanced Skills Inspection, which is the highest rating.

And the accolades don’t stop there.

HRUC was also thrilled to be awarded Education Provider of the Year at the Hillingdon Chamber Awards in January this year.

Jo Withers, Chief of Business Strategy at HRUC, says having the “validation from Ofsted” was the perfect start to 2025 and shows that HRUC is working well to raise the aspirations of students, support their education and growth, and to form positive relationships with the business community ensuring our curriculum is providing the skills they need.

“We are really proud of our Ofsted report and delighted to be rated Good overall, within two years of the merger, and we are particularly thrilled that we were rated Strong in the Enhanced Skills Inspection, which highlights the strong contribution HRUC makes to meeting skills needed in the wider local economy” says Jo.

“Providing our students with meaningful, industry-related work experience is essential in preparing them for their future careers. We found opportunities for 4,000 students across 3,000 employers and Ofsted was particularly impressed at the breadth of industries we are working with.”

The Ofsted report stated: “Leaders work very effectively with a diverse range of employers and stakeholders to understand local and regional skills needs. They are proactive in responding to these needs. For example, leaders from the college led a feasibility study into the food and drinks industry with the Chamber of Commerce.

“Leaders have well-established partnerships that directly impact on the curriculum offer, including with Heathrow Airport. With the college, the Heathrow Inclusive Learner Partnership provides opportunities for learners with SEND (special educational needs and/or disabilities) to gain work experience in the airport’s supply chain. The new Aviation Generation course provides students with a pathway to careers in the aviation industry.”

The ambitious college group has almost 9,000 students aged 16-18, around 4,000 adult learners, 400 HE students and around 550 apprentices – across five campuses it continues to heavily invest in.

Expanding their apprenticeship provision is part of HRUC’s 2023-2030 strategic vision. “We’re really excited that we are finalising our apprenticeship growth plan, which will increase opportunities, in particular within both the food and drink and the aviation sectors,” she adds.

Being long-term Patrons of the Chamber and holding a strong position in the business community demonstrates that HRUC really values its membership.

“Our connection with the Chamber has been established for over 20 years. We represented Further Education on the Board in those early days and Keith Smith, our CEO, is now one of the Chamber’s advisors for Skills. Our membership also enables us to continue to work closely with our business community, developing opportunities to improve the skills in our region, support growth in the economy, create a pipeline for the future workforce and connect with members locally to support their own training and skills development.” says Jo.

“We enjoy several benefits of being a Patron –including networking, opportunities to sponsor awards and events, being featured in this magazine, and building strong partnerships in the community. Crucially, these connections also galvanise opportunities for our students. The Chamber is brilliant at providing valuable work experience opportunities, for example our music and our performing arts students provided tech support and performances at the recent Hillingdon Business Awards and our media students took photos at the Chamber’s Expo.

“Through our high-quality provision we are training the next generation of industry professionals. With highly skilled and expert teaching staff, we have the ability to provide training for the priority industry sectors such as electricians and plumbers to bridge critical skills gaps.

As a hairdresser by trade, I was a dual professional for much of my working life in further education, as are so many of our talented staff. We are always seeking to recruit highly skilled dual professionals to bring their industry knowledge and expertise to life within the classroom and train our students to become the emerging and bright new talent. Plus, we also hold annual Industry Days for our existing teaching staff to refresh their technical skills and knowledge within their relevant sectors to find out what’s new and to ensure our courses remain industryrelevant.”

Jo advises new Chamber members to make the most of their membership.

“The networking is invaluable. There are so many opportunities to make new contacts and develop relationships which evolve and organically grow. There are fabulous resources and webinars to really tap into, nuggets of information that can help SMEs and being a member of the Chamber is being part of a vibrant business community.” she says.

For more information about HRUC, visit www.hruc.ac.uk and if you are interested in becoming a dual professional, please email news@hruc.ac.uk