As Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG) prepares to open the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology (IoT) in Stafford, its Vice Principal Georgina Barnard talks about the facility and the benefits it will bring to local businesses.
“It’s an exciting time as we prepare to open the IoT – a £25 million build measuring 4,000 sq m, an excellent educational facility for the local area and it has its own conferencing facilities too.
As one of 21 IoTs across England dedicated to higher technical qualifications in STEM subjects, we’re proud to be part of a national effort. We are working ambitiously to grow in both size and scale, alongside others doing impressive work.
This will essentially be our second year as we have been in operation for 12 months whilst the building was being built by delivering programmes from various college sites but the finished hub will bring those programmes to life in a new way.
In England, less than one in 10 students progress from a Level 3 qualification onto higher level study in technical areas. Compared to the rest of Europe, that’s incredibly low. IoTs are there to plug that gap – the ‘missing middle’ – with a focus aligned to the Local Skills Improvement Plan and connection with industry is key to that.
Our IoT focusses on advance manufacturing and engineering, technical professional roles in construction to include Level 4 and 5 programmes in civil engineering, building services with the electrical pathway and quantity surveying. We also offer programmes in health and life sciences and digital and creative.
We work with our anchor employer partners – Dell, Hitachi, MOOG, Siemens and Indurent – to create programmes that fill the critical growing skills gaps to make sure that students are leaving with the right skills employers need. Half a million pounds of equipment has been donated from local employers, reflecting their strong support and commitment for the initiative and their dedication to its success.
But we’re looking to work with as many local businesses in the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire area as possible. I’d encourage any local business to get in touch to discuss how we can work together.
We have secured UK Shared Prosperity Funding (UKSPF) from Stafford Borough Council which means that we can offer fully-funded evening short course programmes for adults of all ages. These 10-week technical courses set to start around October time cover areas such as automation and robotics, pneumatics, CNC machining, CAD, CAM and 3D printing together with a wide range of digital courses.
Through UKSPF, we can also offer a product design service to local entrepreneurs, creators and businesses for help to turn ideas into reality when it comes to designing new products or improving existing ones. This service is easy to access and free from bureaucracy. From concept to prototype, the product design service is backed by skilled engineers and industry standard equipment to include the latest 3D printing facilities, 5-Axis CNC machines, electronics lab and materials testing and measuring equipment.
We aim for this service to give our students valuable exposure to real-world projects, though we recognise that access may sometimes be limited due to Intellectual Property considerations. We’re looking to run this funded service until the end of March, but we are looking to explore other methods of funding for it to continue after that date.
We really can’t wait to see what impact our work will have on the local area. Exceeding our first-year KPIs is just the beginning. With the IoT now open, we are ready to make a transformative impact on the local area.”
- Any business interested in getting involved with the IoT should email georgina.barnard@nscg.ac.uk
