The Joint Venture formally unites Calderdale College, Kirklees College, Leeds College of Building, Leeds City College, Shipley College and Wakefield College.
Managed by WYCC and working with the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), this collaborative approach responds to the region’s priority skills agenda using European Structural and Investment Funding (ESIF).
Calderdale College provides a wide range of training solutions at all levels. It has a growing and highly successful apprenticeship and higher skills offer delivered by the college’s dedicated employer facing team.
Calderdale College was awarded the AoC Beacon Award for Engagement with Employers and recognised for its work with over 30,000 employers throughout the country. In particular, the college was praised for developing an impressive range of skills support programmes, which have seen thousands of businesses benefit from high-quality staff training and development.
The college serves a diverse local community. Approximately 43% of the borough’s 203,826 inhabitants reside in the town of Halifax, with the majority of the remainder residing in the towns of Brighouse, Elland, Sowerby Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Hebden Bridge and Todmorden, plus numerous other smaller rural settlements.
Calderdale College teaches approximately 5,000 students each year.
Kirklees College is a large general further education (GFE) college based in Huddersfield and Dewsbury, serving the people of Kirklees and surrounding areas.
Kirklees College places a huge emphasis on employability skills for all students and has been working in partnership with local businesses to adapt its curriculum and respond to industry skills gaps. This collaboration saw the birth of a Process Manufacturing Centre, supported by a £3.1m grant by the LEP, to add to the college’s specialist construction, art and design, animal care and engineering centres.
Further LEP funding has helped the college to create two new centres in Dewsbury, the Dewsbury Learning Quarter..
Leeds City College is a multi-site operation with a number of city centre campuses and out of town centres. In addition, the college operates Harrogate College, Keighley College and Leeds Conservatoire as part of the Luminate Education Group. Leeds City College teaches approximately 30,000 students each year.
The campus at Quarry Hill is Leeds City College’s latest development, based in the cultural quarter of the city. It houses the creative arts, digital and health science provisions, along with studio facilities for Leeds Conservatoire. The £57m development is the second major development for Leeds City College, alongside the newly refurbished Printworks Campus.
Leeds College of Building is the only specialist further education construction college in the UK. The College is based in Leeds City Centre across 3 sites and work has recently commenced on phase 2 of the Hunslet Campus.The number of students has expanded in recent years due to the high level of interest in construction and there are currently around 7,000 students. Because of the diverse range of specialist courses student recruitment extends beyond the Leeds City Region.
Although the primary specialism is construction & the built environment it is important to recognise that the college delivers courses in 9 of the 15 Sector Subject Areas. By working in partnership with employers and industry bodies the college has successfully launched new apprenticeships in civil engineering, transport planning and the higher apprenticeship in sustainable built environment which combines a HND with a NVQ level 5.
Shipley College is situated in the UNSECO World Heritage Site of Saltaire, in the District of Bradford. After our most recent visit from Ofsted in November 2016, we continue to be graded as “GOOD”.
The college offers education and training at its five main buildings across Saltaire and in a number of community venues and on employer premises across the region. The local population is culturally and ethnically diverse and this is reflected in the student cohort.
The college works with professional organisations and employers to develop high quality, inspirational education and training that meets the ambitions of individuals, businesses and communities. Our students include school leavers on full-time courses, traineeships, apprenticeships or supported internships, and adults gaining skills for professional and/or personal development.
Wakefield College is the only general further education (GFE) college located in and serving the Wakefield Metropolitan District. There are three large campuses; two in Wakefield – City Centre and Thornes Park - and the Castleford Campus in the north east of the district.
In addition the college has a dedicated Performing Arts Centre, offers post-16 provision at Crofton Academy, offers Construction and Sport provision in the former Lightwaves Leisure Centre, and opened its Advanced Skills and Innovation Centre (ASIC) at the City Campus in 2017. The focus of ASIC will be to develop higher level professional and technical skills in collaboration with industry and employers.