Shadow Minister praises college's innovative thinking (From Stourbridge News)

Shadow Minister praises college's innovative thinking

6:28pm Tuesday 17th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

CONSERVATIVE MP David Evennett, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills was full of praise for Stourbridge College when he stopped off to see how students and staff are battling through the recession.

The MP met students at the Hagley Road college on Friday November 13 and talked frankly with principal Lynette Cutting about the nationwide education funding shortfall that has hit colleges including Stourbridge over the last 12 months.

He told the News: “Money is very, very tight in the current economic climate and funding is a great problem. But I’ve been incredibly impressed by what I’ve seen on the two sites going around talking to students and staff. The enthusiasm is infectious.”

The MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford particularly welcomed the college’s new Job Shop - an in-house jobcentre which aims to match students to work opportunities in the area and to help them brush up on interview techniques and CV writing.

Based at the Hagley Road campus and the ATC, the new initiative has been set up with no outside funding and has seen two new jobs created.

Mr Evennett said: “It’s a really innovative idea and really good news for the college. We shall be taking it back to Westminster.”

He also praised vice-principal for students and curriculum innovation Andy Sylvester’s idea in progress to work with company chief executives to outline career paths for students - to show them how they can aim for and work their way towards top jobs.

The Shadow Minister was also impressed with the college’s one-to-one mentoring strategy to help students work out their goals and improve their grades; and the facilities and training on offer at the ATC.

Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Stourbridge Margot James, who is a governor at the college, said: “It was great to see how impressed David was as he is visiting colleges all over the country and compared us very favourably with performance elsewhere.”

The MP confirmed money for education would remain tight even if the Tories win the next General Election.

But he said he hoped Conservative ideas to replace the cash-strapped Learning & Skills Council with one Further Education Funding Council - rather than three seperate bodies as planned by Labour - would help streamline funding and cut red tape.

He added: “The economic and financial situation is very, very serious, but if we get into government our plan is different. There would be less bureaucracy and more opportunities for colleges to be independent.”

In the meantime - a few months after losing out on Government cash to build a brand new visual and performing arts campus in Brierley Hill - principal Lynette Cutting has been working on alternative plans to enable the project to still go ahead; which she hopes to unveil in the next few months.

She said: “We have had to move very quick from where we were - but we’ve worked up a really, really nice replacement plan. It’s extremely exciting.”

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)