A HAMPSHIRE college group has been named a finalist for a national education award due to its staff work experience programme used to update the curriculum to modern industry expectations.
Sparsholt College Group has been recognised in the Association of Colleges (AoC) 2022/23 Beacon Awards for its Academic Industry Sabbatical Programme delivered with the EM3 LEP Colleges Consortium.
The education provider, which offers predominantly countryside-based subjects, collaborated with other colleges in the Surrey and North Hampshire area to create closer working relationships between lecturers and industry to align the curriculum with what current employers are looking for.
The initiative provided 140 academic staff the opportunity to update their practical skills and gain industry knowledge through a short-term work experience with employers operating across the Enterprise M3 (EM3) region.
Alton College, BCoT, Farnborough College of Technology, Brooklands College and Guildford College along with Sparsholt and Andover College are all finalists in The City & Guilds Award for College Engagement with Employers Award.
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English teacher, Rob Price, went to the Hampshire Chronicle office in Winchester. Rob’s students at the Andover campus have to write creative pieces in the form of opinion newspaper articles for assessment. Mr Price experienced first-hand how journalists structure articles on a range of topics, including court reporting, and write concisely.
Rob said: “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Hampshire Chronicle. The team made me feel incredibly welcome, and it was great to join their journalists covering critical issues in the community. I now have some great perspectives to introduce into my own teaching.”
The college hopes to send students for their own work experience with the paper in the future.
Curriculum leader for zoo animal studies, Shelby Brereton, went to Paignton Zoo in Devon with the Wild Planet Trust. Here Shelby gained insight into the working of the modern zoo industry and experienced the challenges conservation charities face.
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The zoo animal studies leader hopes to incorporate an industry professional workshop for learners during the year to support their assignment work.
Shelby said: "I was able to speak with a variety of staff who implement their mission to "halt species decline". This was valuable to identify key skills needed in the industry and then discuss ways to implement this in the curriculum so that students are best prepared for a future within the zoo community."
Carpentry lecturer Jason Peacock fulfilled his placement with Input Joinery in Andover. He said: “To be given an experience first-hand on the changes which help to protect our planet towards reducing CO2 omissions within the construction industry was impressive.
"Not only do Input Joinery create high-quality bespoke joinery, but they do it in a way that ensures waste is kept to a minimum through using offcuts towards the heating of the building and into the joinery components themselves.
"The effect this has had from my experience has made me realise that we can be more sustainable with our resources at college and we can use offcuts to save on cost and energy usage."
The AoC Beacon Awards celebrate the best and most innovative practice among UK further education colleges. The awards are judged by independent assessors, including a chief assessor to ensure consistency across the categories. Award winners will be announced in early 2023.
For more on Sparsholt College go to sparsholt.ac.uk/.
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