college voice
Summer Term 2021 Your staff magazine
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hope you all had a restful half term break, and managed to take advantage of the good weather. It’s certainly nice to be able to visit places and eat out again, and it’s wonderful to see our students back in the City Salons welcoming clients. I look forward to the City Restaurant opening to the public again in September, and all our services getting back to nearly normal. As you might have seen, the Skills and Post16 Education Bill was published on 18 May. It confirms the government’s view, supported by all the political parties, that FE colleges have a critical part to play in the country’s economic recovery. We are already working with employers in and around Bristol to upskill their workforce, and with the DWP to reach out to unemployed adults.
On 26 June, we will be welcoming a new batch of prospective students to the College. They will at last be able to physically view our facilities and meet tutors in person. This event is key to supporting our enrolment and I know you will do a great job presenting what we have to offer.
At the same time, we’re vigorously promoting our apprenticeship offering and guaranteeing all school leavers a place to study with us next year. We’re determined to do our bit to help local people improve their qualifications and advance their careers.
Our first face-to-face Staff and Student Awards for some time are taking place on 30 June. These awards are celebrations of your achievement and hard work, and I encourage you to nominate colleagues following the information provided by our HR Team.
Just before half term, we welcomed Metro Mayor Dan Norris and Bristol South MP Karin Smyth to our Advanced Construction Skills Centre. They found the visit informative and enjoyable, with the highlight being speaking to students about their studies and their view of the new Centre.
The Collab Group, which we are a part of, has recently completed a report called Reflections from Further Education Leaders on the Impact of Covid-19. This is an interesting read, based on interviews with college leaders – including myself – on a range of topics. If nothing else, it reminds us of just how big an upheaval we’ve all experienced, and how remarkably well we’ve coped with it all.
We were also delighted to feature on BBC Points West recently. Level 2 Site Carpentry student Brady Gould shared his story about coming to the College to study a course when he couldn’t secure an apprenticeship. With our support, Brady will complete his studies this summer and has already got an apprenticeship with Hudson Carpentry Ltd.
Recognising all you’ve been through during this period, we are inviting teams to apply for funding for “Pause and Reflect” events at the end of this year, as a practical way of thanking you for all your ongoing hard work and commitment during the pandemic. You’ll be receiving e-mail information about how to apply for this, and I hope you all take advantage.
Andy Forbes Principal and CEO
contents Your staff magazine
Summer Term 2021
Principal’s Welcome
page 1
News Good to Know
page 3 page 4
Making our College ‘Green’
page 5
Meet the Team - Business Partnership Team
page 7
Marketing Update page 11 New Starters/New Pastures Important Dates
page 13 page 14
news Earn money be a host family We are looking for host families for our students.
You provide
• A room for two-week blocks minimum, term-time only • Breakfast • Evening meal • A safe and friendly environment
We provide
• Excellent rate of pay • Full support For further information please call 0117 312 2081 or email maria.gonzalez@cityofbristol.ac.uk cityofbristol.ac.uk
Wing-walk for charity City of Bristol College’s Workforce Advisor, Lindsay Donaldson, will be taking to the skies to raise money in memory of a dear friend. Lindsay, who works within the Business Development Team, will be doing a wing-walk on 21 July to raise money for Dorothy House and she is now only £255 away from meeting her £1,000 target. She said: “Eight years ago, my wonderful friend Louise lost her battle with cancer. She spent her last days at Dorothy House and the care she received was amazing. The staff do such an incredible job, not only for the patients but for the friends and families too. “This wing-walk will take place on the anniversary of Louise’s passing which will make this day even more special. I am terrified of heights so wanted to put myself out of my comfort zone and try to raise as much money as I can for a good cause.” To donate to Lindsay’s wing-walk, visit her JustGiving page. 3
@cityofbristolcollege @cityofbristolcollege
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City of Bristol College
Walking the walk(s) For some during lockdown walking became the one activity availible to escape the house. For Learning Assistant Paloma White, hiking ‘became her thing’. She decided to don her boots and put all the steps and kms to good use by raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Not one to shy away from a challenge, Paloma decided one 100km trek just wasn’t enough this year and will be conquering three! With London to Brighton 100km Challenge completed, Paloma still has The Cotswold Way and The South West Coast To Coast Challenges to complete. Paloma said: “I will be doing two of these treks continuously, which means walking through the night! As if that wasn’t quite enough, I will finish off the season in September with a 50km romp around the Chiltern Hills. “This will be a challenge of endurance, stamina, willpower and down-right stubbornness. Donations, no matter how small, will help keep me going when my legs are aching and feet are blistered and I am staring at another hill which has to be climbed.” Help Paloma to reach her £500 target by visiting her JustGiving page.
Do you have a car you want to get rid of? The College’s Motor Vehicle Department is looking for cars for students to use as training vehicles. If you have a car or know someone who is looking to get rid of one, we can plan to collect. If a small payment is required, this can be paid but donations are greatly appreciated. Please contact Stuart.Beaven@cityofbristol.ac.uk, Deana.Beaven@cityofbristol.ac.uk or Phil.Bush@cityofbristol.ac.uk for more information. Got a story for us? email ellie.young@cityofbristol.ac.uk
good
to know Recent Funding success We are delighted to have secured funding through the Sheila Coates Foundation to support young learners with Autism. We have secured £15,000, and this will be used for: •
• •
Buying filming equipment as part of a new development in our Pathways offer and hopefully some resources for a quiet space at South Bristol Skills Academy Producing more virtual tours Resources for the quiet room at College Green, including soft furnishings
You can read more about the foundation at Giving opportunities to young people with autism
Art exhibition The Island Gallery, Bridewell Street, Bristol, BS1 2QD 22-27 June 10am - 6pm UPRISE is an end-of-year degree show for the College’s FdA Graphic Design and Digital Arts students who will be profiling their work. UPRISE celebrates the hard work of the students over the past year and the challenges they have overcome during the Covid-19 pandemic. The show presents a fresh and exciting selection of design projects from Bristol’s talented aspiring designers and includes creative exploration of design disciplines such as branding, packaging, editorial design, advertising, typography and animation.
Are you in touch with some College
? Strategic plan The College’s Strategic Plan 2020 - 2023 provides a clear plan of action which underpins all of the work that we do. The nine Strategic Aims are: • Steady growth in the numbers of 16-18 yearolds we recruit • To rapidly expand our employer-facing work, including apprenticeships • To develop our Higher Education and adult courses in selected Vocational Areas. • To raise academic standards and improve student outcomes. • To invest in our staff, facilities and buildings. • To enhance our digital capability and environmental sustainability. • To remain as accessible and inclusive as possible • To enhance social mobility through improving access to our courses. • To enhance our equality and diversity profile.
The Marketing Team will soon be launching its alumni campaign, and is encouraging staff to invite former students to join the LinkedIn group and to join the alumni group via the Alumni page of the website. We would love for you to get in touch with your former students and encourage them to be a part of building a great networking group which can support students of the past, present and future.
Cyber Security accreditation On 30 April, City of Bristol College was issued with its Cyber Essentials certificate, giving peace of mind to employers, partners and agencies who work with the College that it meets cyber security guidelines. The badge has been added to the College’s website and will act as a deterrent to hackers. The next level of certification is Cyber Essentials Plus, which requires an independent audit. This is scheduled to take place this month.
green
Making our College ‘
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he sustainability agenda is a hugely important topic for all of us, staff and students alike, and we can only begin to make a difference if we have engagement from as many people as possible across the College. Whilst sustainability and climate change are global issues, Bristol as a city has been at the forefront of planning how best to respond to the growing emergency and has committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. Organisations and voluntary groups across the city are working closely with each other to ensure that individual initiatives to promote sustainability and mitigate climate change can work together in order have the maximum effect. Our College is now ready to join in with this city-wide conversation and help contribute to a better and more sustainable future; and this is where we would like views, ideas and involvement from as many College staff and students as possible. As a starting point we are developing an action plan using the Climate Action Road Map for FE Colleges which was originally produced by a working group of universities and colleges (with representation from one of our former student governors). The draft of the plan, which we will use to adapt to our own needs incorporating suggestions and feedback from across the College.
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To support us as we develop our strategy and action plan we will be establishing an internal steering group of around ten people. The group will ideally involve staff from across the different areas of the College, different campuses and also include student representatives. The group will implement and monitor the action plan for the College. If you are interested in joining the group please read the draft Terms of Reference and send a short expression of interest setting out why would like to be involved including any interests or experience you would bring. Please send this to liz.gorman@cityofbristol.ac.uk no later than 14 June. For practical reasons we will have to limit the numbers on the Steering Group but we are very keen for all staff to be involved in our sustainability planning and in the actions we need to take as a College. One way to do this is through ideas and information sharing on the intranet; this is an online forum where we will be able to post ideas and suggestions, discuss topics, link to other groups, and share best practice on the dedicated site – watch for further news on this coming very soon. The climate change and sustainability agenda covers a huge range of topics, and whilst we know we need to do more we also recognise that we cannot address every issue immediately. In view of this we will also be sending out a staff survey very shortly in order to gather as many views as we can on which actions should be a priority for us: please look out for the survey and respond.
We are also working actively with a number of partners across the city in order to learn from their plans, initiatives and actions. Already our student union is planning joint events with the SUs from UWE and the University of Bristol, and we’ve joined a number of cross-city initiatives including the Bristol Green Capital Partnership and the COP26 Steering Group, part of Bristol City Council’s plans to help tackle climate change. We also hope to be working more closely with organisations such as the Bristol Natural History Consortium, so we can be involved in community-based projects across Bristol. Working in partnership with other organisations, and working together, staff and students as one College, we hope to make a real impact and a real contribution to this vitally important issue. Please do take this opportunity to get involved; your views and contributions will help shape our policies and actions over the coming months. For further information please contact Joanne.Ward@cityofbristol.ac.uk or Richard.Harris@cityofbristol.ac.uk co-Chairs of the Sustainability Steering Group.
Meet the team -
Business Partnership Team
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he College employs more than 800 members of staff across its many departments, both professional and curriculum, and we want to use College Voice to introduce you to some of those teams. In this edition, we meet the Business Partnership Team.
Simon Arnold
Director of Business and Commercial Partnerships How long have you been at the College? I joined the College as a consultant in August 2019, became Managing Director of Partners in Bristol (PiB) in February 2020 and joined SLT as the above role in January 2021. What do you do? I work across both PiB and the College developing commercial strategy and strategic partnerships. We are looking to position both PiB and City of Bristol College as the key provider of skills to support the post-Covid recovery in the city of Bristol. This strategy is designed to support the needs of individuals and businesses, and involves both apprenticeships and adult skills. Tell us a quirky fact. When I was 15 years old, I won the South England Judo Championship. 7
Paul Rogers
Key Account Manager (Levy) How long have you been at the College? I started in January 2019 although I have known the College for more than 20 years as a customer. What do you do? My role is a very new role for the College, having only started in January 2021, and represents a very business-focused approach to our larger employers. As I’m sure most people know, a large ‘levy’ paying organisation is any company whose payroll bill is in excess of £3million per annum. In my role I’m working with these organisations to see how the College can provide a one-stop solution to their various training and development needs. This may include focused commercial courses all the way through to apprenticeships, as well as work placement opportunities for our College learners. Tell us a quirky fact. Bonnie Tyler made me a cup of tea on Boxing Day.
Lindsay Donaldson Workforce Advisor
How long have you been at the College? 3 months.
Joanne Van
Business Development Consultant How long have you been at the College? I will have been here for 10 years in August. What do you do? My job is to engage with employers and sell them the benefits of taking on an apprentice, and open up other opportunities to them as to how they can work with City of Bristol College. I work with them to identity suitable job roles, programmes of study, and ensure they understand their responsibility as an apprentice employer as well as talking them through the paperwork, funding, and financial support available. Tell us a quirky fact. I open climbed Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest mountain in Europe.
Sam Hopwood
Client Admin Team Leader How long have you been at the College? 12 years. What do you do? Supporting admin team to process apprenticeship vacancies and promote apprenticeships. Offering information, advice and guidance to employers, general public, parents and College staff. Answering the phone, replying to emails. Organising training, team meetings, ensuring apprenticeship vacancies are being processed in a timely manner and that all are allocated. Building relationships with employers, assessors and Heads of Department. Ensuring data is monitored and reported correctly and shared. Creating enrolments from apprenticeships and get the right apprentice to the right employer. Tell us a quirky fact. I was evacuated by the bomb squad in an emergency while managing a residential trip in the Brecon Beacons and was put up in a nice hotel in Cardiff – we were allowed to return to the cabin after three days!
What do you do? I liaise with construction SMEs to increase their understanding of education opportunities in the sector. Tell us a quirky fact. I am carrying out a wing-walk in the summer for Dorothy House.
Bonnie Smith
Client Administrative Coordinator How long have you been at the College? 14 years
What do you do?
My main role is to recruit learners into apprenticeships, which involves liaison with potential learners, existing learners, employers and wider College staff along with doing all the associated paperwork that comes along with that. Tell us a quirky fact. I once shook hands with David Bowie.
Christina Hill
Client Administrator How long have you been at the College? 24 years What do you do? I facilitate the process of recruitment of apprentices in a similar role to Bonnie.
Tell us a quirky fact. I have a Monica (from Friends) approach to cleaning.
Alice Loveday
SWAC Apprenticeship Recruitment Officer How long have you been at the College? Five years this month
Clare Vertigen
Managing Director of the South West Apprenticeship Company (SWAC) How long have you been at the College?
23 years with SWAC, and working with the College on the local skills agenda and apprenticeship for the past 15 years.
What do you do?
I am quite hands-on in the business and involved in every aspect of SWAC from director meetings, to visiting companies to discuss skills needs, through to interviewing candidates and making cups of tea! I also support the College and our larger levy paying hosts with their apprenticeship programmes – always looking to continuously improve processes and skills.
Tell us a quirky fact.
I once had afternoon tea in the Centre Room at Buckingham Palace – that’s the room with the famous balcony.
Sally Conlon
Business Development Manager (SWAC) How long have you been at the College? Four years What do you do? I work with employers across the South West to support them with starting apprenticeship programmes and finding the best qualifications to fit the roles they have. I also work very closely with the apprenticeship team at the college to support them with incoming enquiries from SMEs in and around Bristol. Tell us a quirky fact. When I am not working I am either walking the giant dog I own or in the gym boxing!
What do you do? I started with SWAC as the Recruitment Apprentice in 2016. Since then, my role has changed massively! Not only do I handle the recruitment of apprentices, I also mentor the apprentices in their work place to ensure that they are happy, progressing well within work and their qualification, and regularly reviewing their performance. Tell us a quirky fact. I am currently saving for my first house with my boyfriend (and a puppy but don’t tell him that!)
Shelley Mills
SWAC Operations Manager How long have you been at the College? 13 years What do you do? I keep SWAC running smoothly. I deal with all SWAC staff and apprentice HR, Finance and general administration. I create forms, spreadsheets, databases, keep on top of rules and regulations, protocols, organise meetings and everything else in between! Tell us a quirky fact. I played hockey for England schoolgirls on a tour of Holland
Simon Arnold Paul Rogers Joanne Van Sam Hopwood Lindsay Donaldson Bonnie Smith Christina Hill Clare Vertigen Sally Conlon Alice Loveday Shelley Mills
Spreading the word
Marketing Update
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hank you for your ongoing support with marketing activities. We are very busy catching up on school events and have lots taking place online, as well as planning for attended events in the next few weeks. This is a summary of what is taking place, do let us know if you need our support. We were delighted to welcome BBC Points West to our new Advanced Construction Skills Centre on Friday, 28 May. They ran a great piece showcasing the new Centre, which featured our Deputy Principal Richard Harris discussing what the Centre will offer, and an interview with a Level 2 Site Carpentry student who has now secured an apprenticeship after he completes his studies with us. This coverage complements a recent visit from Metro Mayor Dan Norris and Bristol South MP Karin Smyth, plus an article on Bristol Live.
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Watch the video
Events
Student Awards: Thursday 20 June 6.30pm
You can keep up to date with events on our website. Here are some we would like to highlight:
During the event you’ll be able to: •
Speak to tutors and lecturers about College programmes
•
Get support with your application
•
Speak to specialist staff about your career options
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Find out about financial support available to you
You’re invited to the City of Bristol College
pen Event •
Take a tour of one of our Centres and see our amazing facilities, including our new £9m Advanced Construction Skills Centre
We hope you’ll be able to join us. City of Bristol College
10am - 1pm Saturday 26 June
This is your opportunity to visit our Centres, hear more about our wide range of courses and talk to us about your next steps.
We had a whopping 97 nominations this year, compared to 80 last year. Thank you to all staff who have nominated students. The shortlisting will take place this week and we will advise you if your nominated students have been selected. Due to space, attendance at this event is by invitation only. We will invite all staff who nominated the award winners.
Bristol Pride: 0117 312 5000 cityofbristol.ac.uk
opendays@cityofbristol.ac.uk
To book your place visit cityofbristol.ac.uk/events
10 July This year we are delighted to support Bristol Pride. We are working with students on our parade activity and will be sharing the love with City of Bristol love hearts. Want to get involved? Get in touch with christina.watson@cityofbristol.ac.uk
Open Event:
Saturday 26 June 10am – 1pm All Centres will be open, showcasing facilities to prospective students. Thank you for the activities you have planned. We have lots of advertising taking place including: •
postcards posted to all applicants
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outdoor billboards
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back of buses
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radio
•
digital
•
ad van
If you are able to attend the event and provide support, please email christina.watson@cityofbristol.ac.uk
Guaranteed place for 16-18 year olds Apply now
Jubilee 25th Birthday Celebrations
Thank you to staff who responded to our request for any old photos, please keep them coming. We now have our working group and they will be making special celebratory plans for the new academic year.
New starters
Mary Ross Trevor Carter Silvia Vigna Exams Vrinda Das Malina Cribbin Kyley Houghton Finlay Cochrane Charis Lewis Dingding Wang Louise Greenhill
New pastures
Samantha Cooper Darren Scadding Sophie Croker Rebecca Elliott Duncan Silvey Emma Jessup
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Lecturer Apprenticeship Trainer Administrator Student Services Receptionist Learning Assistant Safeguarding and Welfare Advisor Student Services Receptionist Student Services Receptionist Learner/Customer Services Advisor Learner/Customer Services Advisor
T&P Mentor Lecturer Transition & Progression Mentor Learner/Customer Service Advisor Work Placement Officer LA
Important dates for diary Here are some important dates for your diary to keep you in the know of everything happening at the College and beyond in the next few months: Date
Event/Campaign Notes
7-13 June
Bike Week
8-11 June 14-20 June 16 June 21 June 21 June 23 June 26 June
28 June – 2 July 30 June 30 June 30 June 10 July 22 July
10 August 12 August 12-15 August 19 August 23 August 30 August
1 September 2 September
Apprenticeship Information Workshop events Adult Learner Week
Web Application Development webinar Bring Your Dog To Work Day
Next Coronavirus announcement Public Services Day
Open Day Face-to-face
WORKS/CoBC Transition Event CPD Day
Staff Awards
Student Awards Evening Bristol Pride
Construction Question Time
A Level/Level 3 results day. There is no physical results day in College this year. GCSE results day. There is no physical results day in College this year. Bristol Balloon Fiesta World Photo Day
All staff to return from summer leave Bank Holiday
Construction Breakfast Autumn term starts
