On 8 March, people all over the world come together to celebrate International Women’s Day. This day highlights the struggles of gender equality and brings people together to help combat this.

It’s a chance to take action, and raise awareness of the economic, political and social achievements of women across the world. 

What is the theme this year? 

Bias and discrimination has held women back for centuries. This year’s official theme is #BreakTheBias, which looks at how we can collectively break the bias and misconceptions in the interest of creating a gender-equal and inclusive world. 

Examples of these biases are reflected in a recent gender social norm survey, which revealed that almost half of participants feel men are superior political leaders and more than 40% believe men make better business executives. 

You can get involved with the #BreakTheBias campaign by sending in photos of you with crossed arms as seen in the below image, or taking a selfie with one of the pledge cards, which you can download now to show your support.

Events

Students at Harrogate College are encouraged to take a #breakthebias photo for Instagram and tag @harrogatecollegesu.

As part of Green Month, learners can sign up to a webinar on Wednesday 9 March at 12pm, which will be based on making an impact with career choices. The speakers will inspire students of any age or gender to align their careers with personal goals.

Inspirational women

As part of the celebration, we asked women at college about who they admire.

Who inspires you and why?

Holly Hansen-Maughan, Partnerships and Development Manager: “My mum, who brought me up as a feminist and taught me so much about educating yourself. She’s worked hard her whole life and never conformed; I’m really proud to be her daughter.”

Megan Hawkswell, Student Enrichment Coordinator: “Hannah Jackson, more commonly known as the Red Shepherdess, is my inspiration. She’s a sheep farmer who has created her business from scratch in an industry which is still male dominated. 

“She inspires me because she is unapologetically vocal about causes she cares about; she promotes sustainable farming and local food, regularly speaks to school children about developing female leaders of the future, and shows how women can succeed in agriculture.”

How can we help to break the bias in education?

Holly: “We need female authority and leadership shown in education. Although many women work in education as role models, the majority of leaders are male; a pattern reflected across the UK in all sectors.

“In education, we must have more female leaders as role models. We need to break the bias around authority being male, and work with learners to understand any unconscious bias. We all have these unconscious biases around gender roles, which impacts the judgements we make every day. If we work harder to break this bias, we will make a real positive change.”

Megan: “Education needs to empower all students – if students of all genders leave education knowing that gender shouldn’t hold them back, they’ll feel confident to stand up to discrimination. In turn, our future leaders will then be empowered to prevent bias and value diversity.”

Take a look at the International Women’s Day resources here.

Two students studying a Master’s degree in Creative Practice at Harrogate College have wowed members of the community at their final year exhibition.

Presenting their work at Hopewell Studios in Knaresborough, Gill Owen and Helen Hopper showcased their journey of studying at Harrogate College.

Friends, family and guests were invited to attend the show, alongside the Mayor of Harrogate, Trevor Chapman, and his wife. 

The exhibition, named ‘Thrown Together’ tells a story of two adult learners who started their journey with a day course at the college, where they decided to broaden their subject knowledge and technical ability. Due to their infectious enthusiasm and undeniable talent, they both secured places on the Creative Practice MA.

Self-guided research was at the heart of the programme, which allowed Gill and Helen to follow their interests and challenge their own methods of practice. While both studying ceramics, they focused on different aspects and disciplines within the diverse field.

Gill focused her work on sustainable and locally-sourced materials, producing hand thrown forms.

“Although the past few years have been difficult and challenging due to the pandemic, which forced us to adapt and refocus on many occasions, the course has been an incredibly rewarding experience. We’ve experimented in different creative media with skilled tutors in the field of printmaking and photography, alongside our ceramics research.

“We have learnt a great deal about ourselves, each other and the generosity of the pottery community and their craft.”

Helen focused her work on the sculpture and manipulation of the thrown form.

The final year show was an inspiring celebration of their work, research and what has developed into a great friendship.

Now their studies are complete, Gill has taken on the role of technician in the college’s ceramics department, while Helen is considering further development of her practice in exploring glass.

The pair have also set up their own studio space at Spa Studios.

A guaranteed interview is awaiting anyone who signs up to a new three-day electrical course at Harrogate College.

The college is teaming up with local power supply firm APS to host the 18th Edition – Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671:2018 course in March.

The [re]boot course, which is free to applicants who meet certain eligibility criteria, will focus on how to interpret and comply with the 18^th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations.

Everyone who completes the short programme will be offered an interview with APS.

A great chance to get a foothold in a booming sector

Deputy Head of Department at Harrogate College, Les Potter, said: “This course is a great chance for anyone with experience of working in the electrical field to keep their skills up to date.

“It’s also a brilliant opportunity, for everyone who completes the course, to secure a guaranteed interview with APS.

“We are delighted to be partnering with the company on this and look forward to welcoming the participants.”

The course runs from Monday 7 to Wednesday 9 March, with the end-of-studies exam taking place at 1pm on the final day.

It is suitable for anyone with electrical installation experience, and can be accessed for free* if the candidates are:

• aged 18 or older
• live in Bradford, Calderdale, Craven, Harrogate, Kirklees, Leeds, Selby, Wakefield of York
• employed or have been recently made unemployed due to the pandemic
• not currently enrolled in education or training

For more details or to book a place send an email to @alison.kwan@my.leedscitycollege.ac.uk.

*The 18th Edition – Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671:2018 course costs £500 for other applicants.
This project supports Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s (LEP) all-age careers and inspiration campaign, #futuregoals, by providing relevant content and practical courses to address the skills shortages in our region. [re]boot is part-funded by the European Social Fund.

Students at Harrogate College are set to turn March ‘green’ as they lead a month of environmentally -focused local events.

The college has set up all kinds of activities, ranging from wildflower planting and an art exhibition to a climate café and educational webinars, for its first ever Green Month.

Keen to push ahead with its commitment to environmental action (as outlined in its Sustainability Pledge), the college is also urging the local community to get involved.

The green activities will kick off with a presentation on sustainable technology, plus a litter pick, on Tuesday 8 March.

Harrogate College’s Partnerships and Development Manager, Holly Hansen-Maughan, said: “We were delighted to host the launch event for Harrogate’s first Climate Action Festival last year.

“The festival proved to be a real catalyst for environmental action both for ourselves and the wider community, and our Green Month is the latest example of that.

“We have worked hard to put together a schedule that includes something for everyone and a number of events that are open to residents as well as our students and staff.

“We hope to see lot of people taking part, both to make a difference and to find out more about how we can all work together to secure a more sustainable future.”

As part of its collaborative and employer-focused approach, the college has teamed up with several local businesses and organisations for Green Month.

They include Techbuyer and Ortial, who will be holding a discussion on Sustainable Technology and How It Affects You.

Social impact company Too Good To Go, meanwhile, will explain how they connect businesses with people in need so they can put their surplus food to good use, instead of going to waste.

The Harrogate District’s schools, colleges and sixth forms will also be involved as pupils and students are being invited to design a poster, or piece of art, that will inspire positive environmental action.

For dates, times and more details on all of Harrogate College’s Green Month activities visit harrogate-college.ac.uk/partners/green-agenda/.

Harrogate College has launched its second 100 in 100 campaign, which aims to get 100 apprentices placed in 100 days.

The campaign is part of the college’s ongoing commitment to supporting the local economy by delivering the skills and courses local firms need to develop skills for the future.

Last year, the college, in collaboration with Leeds City and Keighley colleges surpassed the 100 target, placing 150 apprentices in sectors including business, hospitality, engineering and health and social care.

Daniel Crisp, Deputy Head of Apprenticeships, said: “We are happy to be running this initiative again. It gives us the opportunity to highlight and promote apprenticeships and how they play a crucial role in preparing young people for the sectors they wish to work in.

“We recently launched the Harrogate College Employers’ Network. Now we are preparing to host a week of free networking events this month dedicated to some of the district’s most important industries, energy and construction, health and social care, hospitality, and retail, digital, education and training, and business and finance.

“These meetings are designed to encourage fruitful dialogue between employers in similar fields. It will also be an opportunity for employers to influence the content of the college’s courses so that they are provided with what they need.

“Through this campaign and the employer’s network, we can create those apprenticeship opportunities, help businesses find the right fit and support existing and new apprentices to progress and take their careers to the next level.”

To find out more about the apprenticeship campaign and how to hire apprentices, email apprenticeships@harrogate-college.ac.uk

Eight students from Harrogate College have put their heads together to raise money as part of LGBTQ+ History Month.

The student-led event saw members of the college’s LGBTQ+ society plan an event to raise money for the awareness month with a cake sale, Pride merchandise and nail painting.

Florence Clarke Drayson, Youth Social Action Apprentice at the college, worked with students to arrange the event. She commented “The cake sale went down a treat; it was fantastic to see the students celebrating Pride by creating posters, bookmarks, decorations, bracelets and delicious cookies.

“We raised £94 for Yorkshire MESMAC, a sexual health organisation which offers services to various communities, including LGBTQ+ young people and adults. I’m really proud of the students’ hard work, and it was great to donate towards a cause that they’re passionate about.”

Students can get involved with social action projects which support good courses. To get involved, contact Florence on Florence.ClarkeDrayson@leedscitycollege.ac.uk.

Local charity, Resurrected Bites, is fuelling awareness of food waste by discussing its global environmental impact with college students.

A volunteer from the charity, Polli Appleyard, visited the college to speak to learners about the work they do, poverty in the UK and how reducing food waste can alleviate this. 

27 learners attended the talk, including hospitality students for whom the event contributed to their course.

The guest speaker sparked a change in opinions amongst students, with 90% saying they would change some actions as a result of the talk. Two students were so inspired by the work done by the charity that they made requests to volunteer with the organisation.

Polli spoke about the charity’s ‘pay-as-you-feel’ community cafe, its food waste shop, food bank and food delivery service.

Polli commented: “Visiting Harrogate College to introduce the work and scope of Resurrected Bites was fantastic. The students were incredibly interested to learn about food waste issues and donated 83 food items to our warehouse.”

The guest speaking event was organised by the college’s Youth Social Action Apprentice, Florence Clarke Drayson, who is committed to raising students’ awareness of social issues and encouraging them to get involved in community projects.

Harrogate College students are being offered the chance to experience a once-in-a-lifetime, fully funded work experience adventure in the United States.

We have teamed up with Camp America to secure the opportunity for up to 90 adult students.

All travel, accommodation and living costs will be covered on the trip, which is designed to hone students’ employability skills while giving them a taste of a different culture and the chance to make new friends.

While working for Camp America – supported, whenever needed, by guidance from a mentor – students will have the chance to become a role model for the children they are looking after.

Participants need to be 18 years old or over and will have the option of extending their stay, by up to 30 days, to further explore the US after they have completed their nine week placement.

To find out more about the offer click here. A snapshot of what life on a Camp America placement is like, meanwhile, can be found here.