City of Wolverhampton College is playing a major role in the regeneration of the region and meeting the recruitment needs of employers by offering free training courses to give local people the skills they need to work in priority sectors.
The college runs four sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs) – developed in conjunction with West Midlands Combined Authority and a range of leading industry partners – offering training in construction plant operations and groundworks, electric vehicle and green technologies, laying and maintenance of rail track, and plastering and skimming.
The courses are run at the college’s Wellington Road campus in Bilston, which boasts industry-standard training facilities including 40 metres of railway track and a range of leading-edge maintenance and installation equipment, a groundworks area equipped with mini excavators, dumper trucks and ride on rollers, a dedicated electrical vehicle workshop and a plastering centre.
In addition, the college offers free sector gateway courses (SGCs) to enable people who are registered as unemployed to gain the skills needed to work in roles in adult social care, retail and customer service, security, and warehousing.
All SWAPS and SGCs last between two and six weeks and include pre-employment training, work experience and a guaranteed interview with an industry employer, or help with an employer’s recruitment process, at the end of the training.
Louise Fall, deputy principal at the college, said: “With the construction of HS2, major construction projects and largescale housing developments across the region, coupled with businesses’ Covid-19 recovery plans, there will be an increasing demand for trained staff in a range of sectors and we are proud to be playing our part in the regeneration of the region by equipping local people with the skills that employers are looking for.”
For more information about the courses contact the college’s employability team on 01902 317710 or 07825 054261.
This article appeared in the Express and Star Regeneration supplement on January 25, 2022
