Luminate Education Group, a leading provider of education in Yorkshire, has launched a new training centre in the heart of Yorkshire to boost the skills needs of the region’s economy. 

The Yorkshire Centre for Training and Development (YCTD) will offer bespoke training packages, specific to business needs and employee requirements.

The centre will encompass the education group’s teaching expertise from Leeds City, Keighley and Harrogate colleges, delivering a range of compliance, professional development and redundancy support courses. 

Lee Pryor, Director for YCTD, said: “With the ever-changing economic climate, we recognise businesses’ need to adapt their employees’ skills, to ensure a successful post-Brexit and post-Covid-19 transition. 

“Our service will start with a complimentary skills planning session to understand the business, so that we can effectively identify its training needs, and match these to a budget. We will be offering in-person as well as virtual sessions that fit around the organisation’s schedule. We will then develop a bespoke training solution that meets those needs.

“We’ll be working with a range of sectors, from law, education and social care, to engineering, digital, hospitality and hair and beauty. We want to support as many organisations as possible to grow and thrive, as they navigate the current economic challenges.”

YCTD will be based in dedicated spaces across Leeds, Harrogate and Keighley. 

To find out more or to book a complimentary skills planning session, please call 07814 818826.

Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has paid tribute to the work that Keighley College is doing to bridge the skills gap through its work with local businesses. 

As part of the Q&A session with MP for Keighley and llkley, Robbie Moore, which centred on the recent announcement of the Skills For Jobs whitepaper, Williamson also highlighted the deep rooted industrial heritage of Keighley that has underpinned key successes in the town. 

Steve Kelly, Principal at Keighley College, said: “It’s fantastic to see Keighley College getting national recognition in parliament. Not only was the town’s steeped history highlighted, but also the work our college is doing to plug the skills gap in our district. We are committed to being at the heart of our community and working with the private, public and third sector to serve our town. 

“To be referenced by the Education Secretary as a college that is doing all the right things when it comes to building positive relationships with local businesses fills us with great pride. It’s an approach that is embedded in everything we do as we work closely with the communities that we serve, ensuring that the courses we offer are answering local demand. This national recognition further emphasises how crucial it is for the college to continue engaging constructively with the business community.

“Naturally we welcome the Skills For Jobs whitepaper as it echoes the positive work we are already doing and this will hopefully mean that other businesses will be encouraged to work collaboratively with us. We are so pleased to see that our community-led approach of forming tight knit relationships with local businesses is being recognised. We strongly believe that this will help us continue providing students with the right skills for now and in the future.

“As we look ahead to recovering from the pandemic, it will be even more important for businesses to work with us to ensure we’re supporting their needs. The college is already becoming a central driver for economic recovery in the district as a result of partnering with local support services and we want to see this continue.”

If you’re a local business and you would like to partner with Keighley College, then please contact clare.fitzgerald@keighleycollege.ac.uk.