Partner Perspectives
Partnerships play a vital role in ensuring Hull College continues to meet the changing needs of our city and region.
Through our Partner Perspectives series, we hear from the businesses and organisations we work with about the value of bringing education, industry and the wider community closer together.
By working collaboratively, we can help ensure people develop the skills and experience they need to succeed, while supporting employers, creating new opportunities and contributing to future growth.
Mike Ross
Leader of Hull City Council
Tell us about your organisation and what you do.
Hull City Council is a local service provider, a place leader and the local government authority in the city.
It is responsible directly for many of the services in the city as well as leading on major infrastructure projects within Hull.
It is a democratically accountable body, with members elected to it.
Describe the nature of your partnership with Hull College.
There have been a number of ways the council and college have worked together in recent times. Some of these have been practical, such as current work taking place on the District Heat scheme, which will see the council use land on the college premises for the scheme.
There has also been the partnership working for the green skills provision, which saw the college successfully apply for £5 million of funding to expand its provision at its city centre campus to enable people to acquire the green skills that employers need.
Working collaboratively with Hull City Council, this funding has transformed an existing workshop space which features equipment focused on renewable energy, heat pumps, hydrogen technologies, electric vehicles, carbon capture, sustainable construction and advanced engineering.
Courses will align with the aspiration of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and strengthen the region’s position as a leader in green energy.
Why is it important for businesses and organisations to work closely with Further Education providers?
Skills provision is incredibly important for the economic future of the city.
The ability of local businesses to help shape the skills provision, so it is fit for the future workforce, is essential if we are going to be able to have the skilled workforce needed to help growth here in the region.
What skills are employers looking for from the workforce of today – and how are those changing?
The advent of AI is having a major impact on the workplace. This is an area that for many businesses leaves a sense of unease, given it is something they will have until now had little involvement with.
However, alongside modern technological skills, there is the need for foundational skills, as ever. Punctuality, ability to engage with colleagues and customers and the traditional ‘soft’ skills are what workplaces need now as much as ever.
How important is it that learners have access to industry-standard facilities and equipment?
If learners are really going to learn what it is like in the workplace without being in the workplace, then it is only right that they have access to the best modern equipment.
It would be bizarre to be learning on the Sinclair ZX Spectrum when what is used in the workplace is many generations on from that!
How do placements, apprenticeships or industry engagement help prepare learners for employment?
Spending time in the workplace as part of the learning process is incredibly important. It helps show the learner what the workplace environment is really like and how they would need to interact with potential colleagues.
Crucially, it can also show a learner that actually the type of employment they thought would be for them isn’t right for them after all.
Looking ahead, what opportunities or challenges do you see for your sector or the Humber?
Local government is an ever present, with the need for a local service provider of this nature and a local place leader. It is, however, one that is under constant change, more so than is often realised.
With the impact of devolution and budget constraints, it is not what it was 20 or 30 years ago. Alongside this, the need for a democratically accountable place leader has never been so great.
The council, working alongside the other local authorities and the combined authority, has a critical role in helping shape the future of the Humber region. It has to do so in partnership with the local business community.
Why do partnerships like this matter for the wider Humber region?
So often, partnerships are the best way of getting more out from what you put in. You can achieve more working alongside other organisations.
At the same time, working with partners also demonstrates that there is alignment within the place, which can be a critical message for those outside looking in.
