New funding secured in Keighley will soon give a much-needed boost to the local textile industry. A £30,000 investment from the Textile Growth Fund is enabling a new textile academy to launch at Keighley College in January.

The college has worked with local employers to secure the funding that will provide opportunities for unemployed people to fill growing skills gaps.

Originally a thriving centre for textiles and weaving, Keighley was at the heart of wool and cotton processing and textile-machinery manufacture before its slow decline. Now, Keighley College will offer training with state-of-the-art equipment including nine industrial sewing machines, a five-metre cutting table and industrial cutting knives.

Students will complete a four-week course that will cover employability skills, work experience, and hands-on sessions with the latest industrial equipment. At the end of the programme, students will be offered a guaranteed job interview with a local employer, such as college partners Fibreline or JTS Cushions, and the ability to progress onto a full Apprenticeship.

Chris Stott, Head of Business Engagement at Keighley College, said: “Keighley College is reacting to meet the needs of employers in a flexible manner and we are optimistic about what the academy will bring to the local community. This is a unique provision that nobody else is offering at apprenticeship level and we aim to be a leading provider within the textile industry for the local area.”

“A former student at the college and owner of The Stitch Society, Charlotte Meek, and will be one of the tutors on the course. Her enthusiasm and expertise has helped to lead the project, ensuring the best provision and equipment is in place.

Celia Thornley, Head of Skills at the Alliance Project/Textile Growth Fund said: “We are proud and excited to support the new Textiles Academy, which has the potential to create local jobs in response to rising demand for UK manufactured textiles products.  

“It is great to see this partnership between the College and local employers, resulting in the development of a facility that will deliver the training and skills textile employers need. This resource will not only help to address immediate skills shortages within the Keighley area but, in a wider context support the growth and repatriation of the UK textiles sector.”

The Textile Academy will open on January 20th at Keighley College. For more information, contact Chris Stott on 01535 685 005 or email chris.stott@keighleycollege.ac.uk

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust’s first group of apprentice health care support workers will start working in clinical areas from next week and are raring to go following their induction training. The 12 month apprenticeships will involve the new recruits delivering care to patients whilst working alongside and being supervised by experienced staff; the apprentices will also receive classroom-based education delivered by Keighley College’s Health & Social Care Team from the Airedale Hospital site, following a partnership agreement between to the two local organisations. At the end of the 12 months the apprentices will have a diploma level qualification in health and social care and the guarantee of a permanent job.

Ian Hargreaves, Assistant Director at the Trust said, “We are delighted to have recruited our first group of apprentice health care support workers, they can’t wait to start working in earnest, they are desperate to make a positive difference for patients and keen to learn; we have been overwhelmed by their enthusiasm, their desire to work at Airedale and help care for our patients. We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Keighley College; their teaching and assessing expertise will be a critical part of the apprenticeship programme; we will be recruiting a second group of apprentices to start work at the end of February and a third group later in the spring”.

CarnaudMetalBox Engineering apprentices Mark Smith, James Thomason and Andy Joyce have WON GOLD at this year’s UK Skills competition in the Manufacturing Team Challenge at Birmingham NEC Arena. The CMB Apprenticeship scheme which is delivered through Keighley College is a well-developed highly skilled apprenticeship programme for young aspiring engineers based at their Shipley Headquarters, many of whom go onto managerial roles within the business.

The competition comprised of 3 core skills (electrical, machining and fabrication / hand fitting) a surprise project, a main project and a 5min time trial. The team from CarnaudMetalbox Engineering won gold beating the second place team with a 15% margin on the overall score.

Andrew Truelove, CMB Engineering’s General Manager comments ‘I am delighted that our team of young engineers have achieved this accolade. Winning Gold underpins the direction of our apprenticeship scheme, but more importantly it highlights the talent in these young engineers forging a career path in the industry ’

‘What better motivator to a young apprentice than winning Gold in a UK wide Skills based competition, a truly magnificent achievement not only for Mark, James and Andy, but for CMB Engineering as a united force in today’s competitive markets.’ Comments Truelove.

For the second year, Fab Lab Airedale, based within Keighley College has created a herd of Bulls for Timothy Taylor’s annual Fund Raising Beef and Ale Dinner to be held in the dramatic and beautiful setting of York Minister. The Bulls are designed and by the Fab Lab Innovation Team and machined using their large computer controlled flatbed router and were painted in very lifelike style by artist Charlotte Hardaker.

The bulls will line the aisles at the event and will be auctioned off to raise money for the York Minster Fund. In 2015, the Bulls fabricated by the Fab Lab went for in excess £2000 at auction.

The College has been working with Timothy Taylors for several years, with Fab Lab providing machined products for the redevelopment of the Woolly Sheep Pub in Skipton and Taylors and the college delivering apprenticeships for the company.

The Fab Lab offers a range of commercial service including 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC machining of timber products, such as furniture. This is part of Keighley College’s diverse commercial offer which includes fabrication and welding, room hire and Team Building in our fabulous STAR Centre.

We are delighted to announce that after an absence of five years we now have brand new fully equipped science laboratory and will be running courses, including Access to Science and BTEC Level 2 and Level 3 in Science.

Want to study Health and Social Care? Here at Keighley College we have partnered up with Airedale NHS Foundation Trust to deliver up to 45 new Apprenticeships, each year, in Health and Social Care. Your training will be delivered by our college staff but in the hospitals training facilities. Specialist expert tuition will be offered by the Airedale staff, including research support from the library staff and access to the Hospitals’ state of the art simulation equipment.

We are pleased to announce that we will be offering a range of Foundation Degrees, Degrees and Higher (Degree) Apprenticeships within the Aire Valley, through a partnership approach with ourselves, Shipley College and University Centre at Leeds City College. Local delivery will support these part time courses reducing the burden of travel time and giving easier access to tutors and resources.

In 2017/18 the new offer will be:
Children’s Care, Learning & Development, Health & Wellbeing, Leadership and Management, Leadership and Management in Engineering.

An exciting new academic year at Keighley College is almost upon us and preparations are underway to ensure we can all enjoy it together.

A vital part of that will depend, as efforts continue to contain the pandemic, on as many students and staff as possible being vaccinated against Covid-19. 

The government is now offering vaccinations to 16 and 17 year olds and we would strongly encourage students to have a vaccination before starting their studies with us in September.

We’re delighted to be working in partnership with Modality to provide a pop-up Covid-19 vaccination centre at the college. This will be taking place on Wednesday 1 September from 10am until 2pm. Anyone can come for their first or second vaccine and we are encouraging all students to take up this opportunity.

Keeping safe and having fun

Doing so, and following our Covid safety measures – which include continuing, for now, to wear face coverings in corridors and open spaces, or where distancing can’t be maintained – will help us all stay safe.

It will also mean students can feel confident as they try out the many rewarding and fun events we will have going on during induction week and beyond.

To book a vaccination click here. We are also looking into hosting ‘pop-up’ vaccination clinics at our main campuses in the coming weeks.

When term starts students will need to take two Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests each week (like they did before the summer break) and to record their results via the Gov.uk website.

For more details about Covid-19 vaccinations visit the Gov.uk website here. This guide here also includes information on what to expect after having a Covid-19 vaccination.

Tending to people’s needs is something that adult learner, Kelli Smith, has always longed to do. 

After working as a healthcare support worker at Airedale Hospital for over 17 years, she decided to take her career one step further and pursue nursing.

Juggling parenting and a hospital job is challenging enough; however Kelli has found a new lease of life after returning to college at 37 years old to study Functional Skills in English and maths.

A new direction

Changing careers can be a daunting prospect for many, however as Kelli’s children got older, she decided now was the right time to take a different direction.

“Ever since my children were born, they have been my first priority, as I’ve always decided to concentrate on them. However, now that they’re getting older, I’ve had time to reflect on my long-standing ambition to pursue my career further; deciding to take the plunge back into the learning pool.

“I’ve always held nursing in the highest regard and had ideas of changing my career eventually, but I had to make a conscious effort to build my confidence and go for it. I was aware of Keighley College’s community-centered reputation, therefore I chose to sharpen up my English and maths skills.”

Managing responsibilities

Kelli was faced with the challenging task of handling parenthood and working through college studies – all while working at a busy hospital during the pandemic.

“The various lockdowns upheaved our everyday lives; especially with switching to home learning when bubbles collapsed. My children and I worked tirelessly to ensure their work was completed to the best of their ability, and the knowledge I learnt through my college courses really helped me support them.

“It was important for me to stay focused on my college studies, so I always made the effort to join additional revision classes and attend every lesson. My time at college was phenomenal; I felt incredibly supported by my tutors who were genuinely committed to boosting my skills and confidence.”

Continuing lifelong learning

This year, Keighley College is taking part in the Festival of Learning; a national campaign to celebrate the achievements of adult learners. 

“I would encourage everyone to continue learning as they get older; lifelong learning gives you the skills to adapt to an ever-changing environment. 

“I was over the moon to have passed my English and maths courses this year, meaning I’m one step closer to my dream nursing job. I’ll be returning to Keighley College in September to gain my GCSE maths.”

As part of the festival, Keighley College is working with partners across the region to deliver a range of taster sessions, short courses and open days for adult learners. Find out more here and discover our calendar of events.