Learners across the county stand to benefit from a new agreement between Eastern Education Group and Sizewell C.
The partnership was agreed during an event that took place at One Sixth Form College in Ipswich.
The refreshed memorandum of understanding (MOU) – will help solidify and build on strong foundations that have steadily grown between the two organisations over the last decade.
The pledge will see more investment to support people of all ages in the county and beyond through the creation of increased jobs and training opportunities.
Sizewell C have also agreed to work with the group in terms of their new status as a Construction Training Excellence College (CTEC) for the region. (Last year West Suffolk College was proud to be named the (CTEC) for the East of England – one of just ten colleges nationally selected to lead the future of construction training. This £100 million government-backed initiative is designed to give learners and employers the tools they need to shape the future of the industry).
Other areas of collaboration will include the following:
- The support of quality construction training in disciplines including civils, groundworks, steel fixing and formwork
- The endorsement of the West Suffolk College CTEC designation
- The potential funding of projects
- The utilisation of the Eastern Education Group’s state of the art XR laboratory
- The development real world training
- Financial support for STEM related initiatives and apprenticeships
Previous projects between EEG and Sizewell C include the creation of a virtual experience explaining the journey of an atom which is being shared from the new visitor centre for Sizewell C and operating power station Sizewell B. Phil Stittle – Eastern Education Group’s Executive Director for Business and Growth – is keen to think big and develop more exciting collaborations in the future.
He said: “Today is really important to re-align our partnership with Sizewell C – look at what we have done in the past few years and what our priorities need to be moving forward so that both organisations can benefit.
“We are really excited to be working with them on such a grand scale and keen to find new ways of promoting the construction industry with Sizewell C via our status as a CTEC for the region.
“We currently support over 15,000 students across three colleges, a university centre and four learning centres in Suffolk, huge developments in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk, SEND and primary schools in East Anglian locations – and all of these educational establishments will benefit from this exciting link up.
“All in all, this is an historic day as we are forging a partnership with perhaps one of the biggest employers not just in the region, but the UK.
“This will give our students so many employment opportunities and we are very thankful to Sizewell C for this. It remains our ambition to be the biggest and most influential college group in the country.”
One of the students at the MOU signing was Sebastian Fox, 18, from Ipswich, who’s studying A-levels at One Sixth Form College. He said: “I think the MOU signing is great news for young people. It will create so many jobs and help keep young people stay in the area. It’s great for Suffolk and East Anglia in general.”
Lydia Perry, 18, from Flowton is studying A-levels. She said: “It’s incredible – particularly for students who have a STEM focus for a career. It gives opportunities here – and will bring people to Suffolk.”
Chris Young is Head of Employment Affairs at Sizewell C. He said: “Today reinforces the importance of further education in the skills system for us as an organisation.
“We want to continue to work with EEG to make sure the learners they support have the skills that they need to access careers with us and other employers and projects.
“And with EEG being the CTEC of the East it puts them in a prominent position to impact the delivery of construction and infrastructure skills across the region – so, we are delighted to be connected with them not just now, but for generations to come.”
