I was delighted to return to the excellent Northampton College on Booth Lane North for another visit.
The College has brilliant new facilities and buildings and it continues to expand and improve year after year. The new facilities and buildings are really impressive.
I was invited on this occasion to see the latest ‘Warehousing and Storage Sector Based’ Work Academy. This Academy works in conjunction with Northampton Jobcentre Plus and ACS Recruitment in Northampton. It provides very effective training to apprentices looking to give themselves a boost to their employability by qualifying in the specific skills that are needed, in this case in Warehousing and the Storage Sector- a big industry in Northamptonshire. The course also provides good training to improve applicants’ readiness for job interviews and similar skills.
I spoke to some of the candidates on the Academy course as well as the tutors and project leaders and I was impressed by the scheme.
The project aims to get unemployed people into work and has been a success in doing so. It has already proven popular with employers, and it the fifth such project being run through the College.
It is great to see the co-ordinated efforts between the Jobcentre, the private sector and educational hubs like the College and our University.
Whilst at Northampton College I also had a meeting with the Principal, Ms. Pat Brennan Barrett, and we discussed the good progress the College is making under her leadership.