Tees Business Tees Business Issue 16 | Page 77

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 77 Middlesbrough College is celebrating a ‘Good’ rating after Ofsted praised its positive culture, high grades, employment outcomes and strong curriculum. Celebrating Ofsted success T here were celebrations when an Ofsted report rated Middlesbrough College as Good. The college was praised for its positive culture, high grades, employment outcomes and strong curriculum. And there was further recognition for its experienced staff, enthusiastic and positive students and well-equipped learning environments. Students were described as “highly “Apprenticeships offer so much both to the apprentice, the employer and to the community.” “A lot of the training at Northern Skills Group is based in the college’s STEM Centre which is a fantastic facility and is ideal as engineering and construction are so firmly back on the horizon. We have 600 full-time students in those two areas alone where the majority are looking for an apprenticeship “We’ll also be looking at how we can support digital companies, which are part of a growing industry. It’s already big in the area but we anticipate significant growth over the coming years.” Steph started her working life as a travel agent, moving to work for a training provider when she was made redundant after the firm was taken over. She worked for North Lancs Training Group for seven years before taking up the role of business solutions manager at Burnley College for four years. Now at NSG, Steph has had a whirlwind introduction to the area, networking and talking to businesses and says, so far, it’s been very positive and welcoming. “I’d never been to Middlesbrough before I applied for this role and more than anything I’ve been pleasantly surprised. “I can genuinely say I’ve never been to a friendlier place. Wherever I’ve been - meeting businesses, getting to grips with the area or networking – people have offered to introduce me to contacts, show me round or motivated” and “eager to learn” and value the support they receive from staff. The report emphasised Middlesbrough College’s culture and environment, describing it as caring and supportive, welcoming and harmonious, and with an ethos of raising aspirations. This builds on last year’s success securing the esteemed TEF Gold. take me for coffee,” she said. Steph joins a passionate team at Northern Skills Group who already work with more than 2,000 employers across the region, helping them to meet commercial aims with skills. “We deliver apprenticeships and employer-led training in subjects including engineering, accountancy, digital, leadership and management, customer service and manufacturing to name a few. “All of our training is delivered by an expert team of tutors, all of whom have industry backgrounds. “The training facilities on offer to leaners are outstanding, including or £20m STEM Training Centre, our Health and Care Ward and our dedicated digital hub, MC Digital,” Steph continued. Steph is keen to meet with businesses across the region and find out what their training challenges are and how NSG can offer support. For an informal chat just contact Steph on 07920245878 or at [email protected].