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.

Today marks the start of LGBTQ+ History Month, an annual celebration and remembrance of the LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer + others) community.

LGBTQ+ History Month has been an annual celebration in the UK since 2005, however, the month was founded in the US after Rodney Wilson, the first openly gay teacher in Missouri, originated the idea.

The importance of LGBTQ+ History Month 

With a lack of education and awareness, members of the LGBTQ+ community still face prejudice today. The overall aims of this month are to promote equality and diversity for the LGBTQ+ community, to acknowledge and value their contributions to society, and most importantly; to ensure they feel safe and accepted. 

Achievements of the LGTBQ+ community can often be overlooked; it’s important to carry on educating those on the sacrifices made by the community which led to milestones such as the Sexual Offences Act 1967.

Although there have been huge milestones for the LGBTQ+ community there is still a great deal of work to be done to move towards social justice, fairness and inclusion. 

What is the theme for this year? 

This year’s theme is Politics in Art: “The Arc is Long” which is inspired by a Martin Luther King quote: ‘The Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.’ 

Some of the LGBTQ+ artists featured in this year’s theme are Keith Haring with his dancing figures, which were used to draw attention to the growing AIDS crisis of the early 1980s. Graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat was also significant in the ‘80s for his neo-expressionist paintings. 

How you can be an ally

Being an LGBTQ+ ally is about helping to create an inclusive environment where people can feel safe and be themselves around you. 

If you are a straight ally, here are some of the ways you can help improve the lives of lesbian, gay, bi and trans people everywhere.

Familiarise yourself with the terms 

Educating yourself with the correct terminology and pronouns is a simple but crucial step in becoming an ally. Take note of what words a person uses to describe themselves and their sexual orientation and gender identity, using the correct terms and pronouns is being respectful to those around you.  

Stonewall has created a Stonewall glossary of terms for you to learn and begin to familiarise yourself with.

Expanding your reading and watch list with cultural content is also an easy step but an important way of learning about LGBTQ+ history and LGBTQ+ existence today.

Show your support

A good way to show support is to engage with charities and events in your local community. They might have updates and activities that you can volunteer for or donate to.

Pride in Diversity Harrogate is a local community that aims to encompass life in all its diversity and to encourage all to work and live in a fully inclusive community within the Harrogate district. Take a look at their website here to see how you can support them. 

There are also small LGBTQ+ businesses out there to show support to, this can be done by sharing their social media on your own accounts or if you can afford to, purchasing something from them. 

Celebrating at college

Harrogate College is celebrating LGBTQ+ History month in a variety of ways this year. 

Harrogate College’s LGBTQ+ Society provides a safe space for those who identify as LGBTQ+* to be fully themselves without fear of judgement, criticism or discrimination.

Our LGBTQ+ society is always open to new members: students can drop into AG23 on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons or can click here to sign up for the online group.

The LGBTQ+ society is doing a fundraiser for MESMAC, an organisation that offers a range of mental health services for LGBTQ+ individuals. 

The Students’ Union will also be selling pronoun badges for 50p for staff and students who want to wear one on their lanyard. 

LGBTQ+ support

There is plenty of support available out there for LGBTQ+ members. 

Mindline Trans+ is an emotional and mental health support helpline for anyone identifying as transgender, non-binary, genderfluid. 

​​LGBTQ+ Foundation

The foundation provides a helpline staffed by a team of dedicated staff and volunteer operators who have extensive training.

There are also a range of services on The Go To, which offers support to LGBTQ+ individuals across North Yorkshire.

Aspiring Paralympian Emily Holder is aiming for two ‘gold medals’– in fencing and in business.

The Harrogate College student may  only be 17 but she is already near the very top tier of wheelchair fencing, with National Championship medals – among others – for England to her name.

Emily, who made her debut for Great Britain last November at the IWAS wheelchair fencing World Cup in Pisa, Italy, now has her sporting sights firmly fixed on breaking into the Paralympic team and winning a medal.

She has also been flying high in her Level 3 BTEC National Extended Diploma in Business – despite having to contend with pandemic-related interruptions and a recovery period following surgery – which she will complete this year.

The challenges of chasing ‘two careers’

Juggling the two workloads has been far from easy, especially when having to travel to Milton Keynes regularly for her key training sessions, but it is a challenge she is enjoying.

She said: “This course has been a good choice for me and in terms of the college being flexible to let me continue my fencing and training, it’s been really great.

“The staff have been very helpful and understanding. Although we haven’t been going to too many things, because of covid, when it has come to me having to take time to attend training and fencing competitions they’ve been really good, on the understanding that I just need to make sure I get the work done. Which, to be fair, I always do!

“I also use a little bit of sport psychology, in terms of setting goals and deadlines, envisioning positive outcomes and that sort of thing, to help with my studies.”

Emily has cerebral palsy and the level of her mobility varies depending on how much chronic pain she’s experiencing and her spasticity (muscle tightness) and dystonic (involuntary muscle contraction) levels. She often uses a crutch but on good days can manage without it, and also has an electric wheelchair.

For her fencing she uses a specialist sports wheelchair which costs £4,000, and which the athletes have to pay for themselves, as the female GB team receives virtually no funding support. 

Her fencing gear – including two different blades, a foil and an épée, a mask, gloves and more – is also expensive so her participation has required a major investment in money, and time, from her family.

A model student – and an inspirational dad

The dedication she has shown to both her studies and fencing has led tutors at Harrogate College to hail her as a ‘fantastic role model’. Course leader David Gaunt added: “Emily is very conscientious and always prioritises her grades.”

Her love of business was inspired by the example of her father, who has proven to be very useful when it comes to her fine-tuning her coursework.

She said: “He’s been a great help as I can run things by him to see if they make sense in the real world too, because theory’s often very different from practice.

“I’ve always been aware that I need to commit myself to both things, my fencing and my studies. Some of my teammates, the Paralympians, only fence but they’ve always said to me ‘don’t just rely on it, you have to try to have two careers rather than one’.”

Emily’s interest in competitive sport began in 2013, when she was just nine, after attending a disability sports festival and deciding to pursue swimming and fencing.

She eventually chose to focus on fencing as that would give her a better chance of one day becoming a Paralympian.

Focused on competing at the highest level

She said: “Fencing is a really niche sport anyway, and when you add disability to the mix it’s tiny. There are only four competitive female GB wheelchair fencers in the entire country!

“Paris, in 2024, may be my first chance to compete in the Paralympics in a team event, but LA in 2028 is maybe a bit of a more realistic goal.”

Emily, who lives in North Rigton, started off at Harrogate Fencing Club but now does the majority of her training in Milton Keynes while also using online coaching plus facilities at Durham, York and Bath.

As for her studies, she is aiming to take up a Business Management or Human Resources course at university later this year, and has already had three offers. She has also been gaining some valuable work experience at Portakabin’s York base.

Anyone who would like to support Emily’s fencing by sponsoring her can do so by sending an e-mail to emilyholder43@yahoo.com.

For more information about wheelchair fencing visit britishdisabilityfencing.co.uk/.