Your college, your future, our guarantee
Mark Jones, principal of Gower College Swansea, explains how the college is planning to help students create a clear progression pathway for their future
WITH the current political unrest, education institutions are facing another period of financial uncertainty as we start the new academic year.
As educationalists, it is therefore more important than ever that we remind ourselves of our key role, which is to add value to our students so they leave with qualifications and skills that they didn’t have before enrolling.
As a result, they are able to progress onto the next step of their education or career journey.
This focus on progression is something I believe all colleges of further education do better than anyone.
This is helped, no doubt, by our knowledge and experience of delivering an ever-increasing range of programmes.
These include taster courses for school pupils aged 14-16, A-level and vocational programmes, higher education courses and apprenticeships.
In addition, Gower College Swansea has a very successful employability provision Better Jobs, Better Futures aimed at getting people of all ages into work.
With this wide experience, colleges know what it takes for students to succeed on all of these courses.
And as such, we can build these requirements into each individual student’s current course, so not only do they get the very best grades, but they are also ready for the next step.
Gower College Swansea has always been recognised for our students’ excellent progression rates onto many of the UK’s top universities.
However, we have similar strong progression rates onto other pathways, such as higher level vocational courses and apprenticeships.
But this coming year we want to take this a step further by providing a seamless link between all of the different pathways for each of our full time students.
Whether that is an offer of a place at a higher education institution, an offer of a job/apprenticeship, progression onto another further education course, or tailored employability support aimed at getting the student into work.
This will form a guarantee for each of our full time students, supported by career coaches and employment officers, who are experts in their field.
They will spend part of their week working with our full time students, both in tutorials and in employment hubs, which as I’m writing this, are being built at the front of our Tycoch and Gorseinon campuses.
The guarantee is based on each student securing at least one progression opportunity, which may not be their preferred one, as most universities and employers set their own entrance criteria.
It is also based on each student’s attendance, behaviour and their success in passing their qualification. Although whatever the outcome, we’re still keen to work with each student to provide the very best progression opportunities to help shape their next step.
■ If you’re keen to find out more about the opportunities available, please contact us on 01792 284000 or visit www.gcs.ac.uk