The Manchester College has launched its Industry Excellence Academy, a unique opportunity for students across the region to gain unrivalled access to industry-standard learning and training.
The Academy will see students benefit from established industry links between the College and over 1,000 leading organisations and businesses, reinforcing the College’s position as the number one college in GM for achievement.
Lisa O’Loughlin, Principal of The Manchester College, said: “Industry Excellence is the next stage in our journey as the number one college in Greater Manchester for achievement. Our ‘Careers not Courses’ ethos has been highly successful and industry excellence is the natural evolution of this approach that will really enable us to take this approach to a new level.”
Students studying at the IEA will complete either a Level 2 or Level 3 qualification and a placement with an employer in their chosen industry, of at least 15 days.
They will benefit from an employer sponsored programme of study, that has been co-developed in collaboration with one of the College’s industry partners to ensure they are aligned with current regional skills demands or they will undertake a T level qualification.
Students on an employer sponsored programme, will benefit from a wide range of industry level learning including sessions delivered by experts, visits from sector-leading guest speakers and ‘live briefs’ requiring students to work on projects typically delivered in the workplace as well as an industry placement.
An integral component of the IEA offering will be the T Level qualification that The Manchester College will start offering in September 2021. T Levels are a new two-year high-quality technical alternative to A Levels which will combine classroom learning with an extended industry placement of at least 315 hours (approx 45 days).
The College will initially offer T Levels in four subject areas,Construction,Computing and Digital Media,Education and Childcare and Health and Science
In addition to the Academy, the College has also launched Centres of Excellence (CoE) in every curriculum area and covering all college courses not yet co-developed or co-delivered with employers.
Students will be able to obtain a range of qualifications at a CoE ranging from Entry Level and Level 3 certificates through to Extended Diplomas.
The difference between a CoE and an IEA is the amount of employer input and work experience opportunities students will receive, with CoE students able to complete work experience with one or more employers throughout their course or in a single block.
In addition, CoE students have the opportunity to progress into an Industry Excellence Academy if they obtain the necessary entry requirements.
Lisa added: “Over the past five years we have achieved the Ofsted ‘Good’ grade, have been the number one college in GM for overall achievement for two years running, developed links with over 1,000 industry partners and have gained a number of awards, including two recent AoC Beacon awards, one of which was awarded by The Careers Enterprise Company in recognition of the quality of employer engagement delivered by the college.
“Our unique IEA and CoE offer, coupled with our delivery of T Levels starting in September 2021, emphasise our commitment to technical and vocational education within Greater Manchester and beyond.”
Find out more about The Manchester College.
