PortalPress
Issue 5 | 7 November 2014
Welcome
Hull College Group had fantastic news this week, when our school of Construction and Green Energy Skills was recognised at both a national and international level in the prestigious Green Gown Awards. We won the ‘Social Responsibility’ category for our work with the East Hull Voids project, first at the UK final of the Green Gowns, and then at the international final in Tasmania, Australia. The Voids projects has seen more than 400 of our students engage in the complete redevelopment of vacant and extremely dilapidated properties – many of them boarded up shells. In partnership with Hull developer Probe and North Lincolnshire Council, the houses have been returned to use and sold as affordable homes of a fantastic standard. We are all extremely proud of the School of Construction and Green Energy Skills, the students and everyone involved in the project. My congratulations to Shane Foster, Darren Waller, John Farnill and all the team for their continued hard work and investment in the project. You can read more about the success in this edition of Portal Press and watch the announcement of the Australian win here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6tX3Ag_460. Watch from 1:10:19. To add to our competition success, we have six students heading to the UK finals of WorldSkills next week, at Birmingham NEC. My congratulations to each of them, as well as their tutors, on reaching the final. I’m sure all staff will join me in wishing them the best of luck for the competition. Regards,
Gary Warke, Chief Executive
Contents International award for College’s Social Responsibility Hull College students head to UK final of skills competition Employability Hub’s incredible partnership with ResQ Coffee morning raises charity cash Hull College Rugby Team got off to a flying start to the season Fashion students host charity fashion show Boost skills with Data Services sessions An Invitation To View… Become a 14-16 mentor
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International award for College’s Social Responsibility Hull College has received international recognition for its innovative East Hull Voids project at a ceremony in Tasmania, Australia. The coveted International Green Gown Awards recognise exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities and colleges from Australasia, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxembourg. Winners of the international categories in the preceding regional Awards go forward to the International Green Gown Awards announced at the Australasian Awards Ceremony on Thursday 6 November. The College was recognised for its East Hull Voids project in partnership with Probe, under which construction students have transformed run-down and derelict properties into modern and affordable homes in the community. The project supports families in-need and provides students with hands-on experience and workbased activities promoting employability with a direct-link to job opportunities. The College beat two other finalists in the ‘Social Responsibility’ Category, the University of Western Sydney, Australasia and Lille Catholic University, France. Shane Foster, Head of School Construction and Green Energy Skills, put together the award entry and has led the College’s involvement with the Voids. He said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have won in this exceptionally tough category and to receive international recognition. More than 200 of our students have participated in this project and they’ve worked to a
thoroughly professional standard. It’s excellent work experience for them and looks fantastic on a CV. It’s also a venture which really benefits local communities – in terms of both returning the refurbished properties and the resulting improvement of the surrounding areas. “We work with Probe, a local non-profit organisation, and with Hull City Council. Finished properties are either rented or sold at very reasonable rates and any profits go right back into the project. It is sustainable, a valuable learning tool for all those students involved and is tackling at grassroots the problem of unoccupied properties in areas very much in need of regeneration. Gary Warke, Hull College Group Chief Executive said: “Winning this award is recognition of the positive impact of the project itself and of the significant value for our students in taking part. We’re very proud to be involved in the Voids – it’s a scheme which is making a real difference in Hull and it absolutely deserves this international attention”. Judges saw Voids as “a self-sustaining and innovative project with high student and community engagement. It really taps into wider social issues for positive change and maximum impact”. View the announcement of the award and a live recording of the ceremony at http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=E6tX3Ag_460&feature=youtu.be (College announcement from 1:10:19).
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Hull College students head to UK final of skills competition Six Hull College students have reached the finals of a national skills competition, where they will compete for the title of UK Champion in their chosen skill. The WorldSkills UK National Skills Competitions Final will be held at the Skills Show at the NEC Birmingham in November, bringing together some of the UK’s top Apprentices and students. From Hull College, Jonathan Buttery will compete in Joinery, Jaqueline Rodgers in Nail Enhancements, Ollie Forbes, Violet Neumann and Saskia Blacker in Video Moving Image, and Tom Dixon in Bricklaying. Tom was ‘highly commended’ in his category in last year’s competition – he was one of three Hull College students to have success at Worldskills UK 2013, with Aaron Penn winning a gold medal for Confectionary and Patisserie, and Connor Cutsforth a bronze medal for Brickwork. Connor has subsequently been selected for the UK Squad and will compete for a chance to represent the UK at the World Skills finals in Brazil 2015. On the day, each competitor will take part in live tasks which will test their abilities in their chosen area. The aim of Worldskills UK is to inspire competitors to be ambitious in their pursuit of skills to the highest level. Hull College Principal Graham Towse said: “I extend my sincere congratulations to all six of our students who have reached the finals of the Worldskills UK competition. They have already demonstrated significant abilities and commitment in making it to this stage of the competition. “Each of them is a fantastic example of the highly skilled students we have at Hull College across a wide range of vocational areas and we are very proud that they will be representing the College and the city of Hull at the finals of Worldskills UK. “We are particularly pleased to be returning to the final after the significant success we had last year.” WorldSkills UK is organised by The Skills Show, the nation’s largest skills and careers event. The Skills Show spent three days at Hull College in July, drawing thousands of visitors who had the opportunity to try out a selection of hands-on skillsbased activities. The aim of the show is to inspire young people to explore further education, skills and Apprenticeships.
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Employability Hub’s incredible partnership with Daniel Perkins attended a work academy with the Employability Hub for a position with ResQ and was successful in gaining full time employment working with the Business to Business Department. The Business to Business Utilities Campaign consists of calling businesses and selling a diverse range of products to customers over the phone, using in-house technology to find the best deals for their energy consumption to potentially save money on their bills. We had feedback from ResQ regarding Daniel’s interview and sales pitch saying, ‘Daniel was extremely confident during the recruitment process and we feel he will fit in perfectly’. ResQ also had quite a lot to say about their partnership with us:“It’s been fantastic to work with a group of people whose desire to support and develop people runs as deep as our own. The team from the College have taken the time to understand our business and work in a collaborative manner. This cooperative and collegiate approach will
continue as Res-Q also continues to flourish and grow. We are a strong sales partner for our clients and due to our ability to significantly outperform our clients other suppliers this has resulted in a strong period of continuous growth for Res-Q – good news for Hull as we are proud to remain in our vibrant and developing city”. One of our previous successful SBWA students not only gained employment with ResQ but has now progressed within the company to become a Team Leader:“Our J D Williams Team Leader, Dave Pinder joined Res-Q via the SBWA program. He joined the Res-Q family as a Call Centre Agent he has since been promoted to Team Leader within the J D Williams campaign”. Julie Lockley, Employability Manager said, “This is yet further evidence that Sector Based Work Academies run through the College’s Employability Hub are a resounding success. I am delighted that the dedication and commitment of the staff from my area has been recognised by ResQ.”
Coffee morning raises charity cash
On 24th October 2014 the Front of house multi skilled group held a Macmillan coffee morning to raise money for cancer awareness , the group donated the products to produce homemade cakes and biscuits, the group and staff would like to thank all that attended the event which raised over £185
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Hull College Rugby Team got off to a flying start to the season
After a long break for the summer the college rugby team got off to a positive start to the 2014/15 season with a 34-16 win against Kirklees/Batley Bulldogs College. 1st half tries scores by Harry, Tom & Jason with three conversions kicked. (16-0) the 2nd Half was a closer affair with Siggy, Aaron, Tom all scoring and two conversions kicked to make the final score 34-16. The whole team played well against a larger physical pack & managed to score some excellent tries including a length of the field run from Siggy. We are fortunate to have maintained our partnership with Sirius Academy and this partnership allows the college to put out a competitive team. If anyone is interested in playing for the team on a Wednesday afternoon & is under 19 from 1st Sept 2014 please contact Matt Donkin MDonkin@hull-college.ac.uk
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Boost skills with Data Services sessions
Fashion students host charity fashion show
Data Services will be running ‘Bitesize’ sessions for staff covering enrolment, change of status forms, register marking and using QL Reports. We will be running these from w/c 10th November at various dates and times. If you would like to attend any of these sessions please book via the ‘Events’ tab. Thank You
The BA(Hons) Fashion year 2 students are holding a charity fashion show in aid of Kick Start, the young adult cancer charity, displaying their own designs of cruise wear. The theme is vertical/ horizontal. Tickets are £32 and include a three-course dinner followed by the show. It all kick starts at 7.00pm. For further information, please contact Lynn. Benson@artdesignhull.ac.uk
An Invitation To View…
DEBI KEABLE’s Light Installation… to the better place we dream of… At Hull School of Art & Design, Queens Gardens, 24th Oct - 28th Nov 2014. Keable was commissioned by local arts organisation Artlink to create a large-scale light installation for ‘The Long Walk to Freedom’ light trail - Freedom Festival 2014. She designed and commissioned 5 huge lantern like structures to hold 20 hand printed screens; created using glow in the dark pigment to light a beautiful, contemplative pathway through Hull’s historic old town. Imagery of trees indigenous to Nelson Mandela’s homeland were digitally manipulated by Keable, and then merged with artwork created by local people of all ages and abilities who attend community arts organisations across the city of Hull.
like a window to something beyond. UV light, colour and perspective are used to create a visually ethereal and beautiful illusion that becomes a shared human experience.” Contact: www.facebook.com/DebiKeableArtist debi.keable@yahoo.co.uk Twitter: @DebiKeable Mob: 07980100729
Visual artist Debi Keable studied Contemporary Fine Art Practice at Hull School of Art & Design, graduating in 2011. She is based in Hessle, East Yorkshire and is a member of Eleven Gallery, and a soon to be intern on HSAD’s newly formed HATCH scheme. Since graduating Keable’s work has been shown at the International Print Biennale, The Ferens Art Gallery, Artlink, PoP (pride of place art space), Burton Constable Hall, and most recently at Freedom Festival as part of the ‘Long Walk to Freedom Light Trail’. Debi said: “In our world of excessive information I only hint at the familiar, stripping back the image, yet still offering the viewer clues so they are able to become immersed in a visual experience created through artifice and illusion. With the use of transparent materials, screen print and multi-layering of image, the work becomes
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Become a 14-16 mentor 14 – 16 College Reading Mentor Program Hull’s 14-16 College is recruiting new mentors and staff have been encouraged to apply. The reading programme will run alongside the existing mentoring scheme, and will focus specifically on assisting students with their reading (this would be particularly beneficial to trainee teachers) The reading mentors could double up as a regular mentor too if they would like to. We believe this will significantly help our 14-16 students with their reading and should hopefully help them to progress. If you would like to volunteer to be a reading mentor or a regular mentor for one of our students please E-mail Rebecca Geering or Tamisha Hall, or call: 598882 / 2182.
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If so, please contact Hannah Savage on extension 2948 or hsavage@hull-college.ac.uk should you have any feedback or articles for submission.