Harrogate College Business Newsletter – February 2022
| Harrogate College prides itself on working hand in hand with local businesses and organisations to provide the skills and training they need to ensure that our economy grows and thrives. Our monthly newsletter is a handy way of keeping our partners informed of developments at the college. To receive future Harrogate College Business Newsletters directly to your inbox click here |
| Business Newsletter – February 2022 |
| Dear Partners, As we enter a new month the environment, which is always one of our top priorities, becomes our main focus in terms of on-campus activities. Harrogate College is embracing March as Green Month and will be hosting all kinds of events, ranging from litter picks to art competitions, to raise awareness. Aimed at both our students and staff and the wider local community, the month will involve several events featuring local businesses and organisations. In February, meanwhile, we were pleased to hold two events as part of our ongoing commitment to the local economy (and, in retrofitting’s case, its environment) – a retrofit awareness evening along with a week of sector-specific Harrogate College Employers’ Network sessions. Both were well attended and generated lots of positive feedback, which will help us as we plan future events. We are also delighted to report here on some great funding news for the charity we have been working closely with on retrofit initiatives, Zero Carbon Harrogate. We hope you enjoy the read. Danny Wild Principal Harrogate College ——————————————  Networking in specialist areas The Harrogate College Employers’ Network was established last autumn to help local firms, including those with connections to the college, link up and discover mutually beneficial links. Our successful launch event was open to any interested businesses and in February we followed this up with a week of sector-specific networking events. These took place between Monday 14 and Friday 18 February and covered Energy & Construction, Digital, Business & Finance, Health & Social Care, Hospitality & Retail and Education & Training. The feedback that has been gathered will help us influence current courses, start new short courses, develop bespoke upskilling programmes for businesses, and create direct employment opportunities for our students with local employers. If you would like to get involved, please don’t hesitate to contact us. All are invited to the next Employers’ Network event on Thursday 16 June. This will be a celebration of the network and an opportunity to share details about the impact, to date, of the feedback it has generated. To sign up click here ————————————————-  Retrofit success – and funding boost for a valued partner We have been promoting the many benefits of retrofitting – the energy efficiency skills needed for eco-renovation – for a number of months now, in an initiative that has involved close collaboration with Zero Carbon Harrogate. In January the college teamed up with People Powered Retrofit to hold a two-day Foundations of Eco-Retrofit course, aimed specifically at construction industry professionals, that proved a big hit and was fully booked. Then on February 17 we staged a second retrofit awareness event, featuring expert speakers from local businesses and representatives from Zero Carbon Harrogate, that also proved popular. We are now delighted to share the news that Zero Carbon Harrogate, following its link-ups with the college, has received grants totalling more than £135,000 to pursue further retrofitting projects. The money, from Ofgem’s Energy Redress Scheme and the National Lottery’s Together for our Planet fund, will pay for a major retrofit programme, including training and engagement, in the Harrogate District. ——————————————————  Green Month As part of its commitment to the green agenda, March will be ‘Green Month’ at Harrogate College, with a schedule of environmentally-focused events lined up for students and the wider Harrogate community. The activities will include panel discussions, litter picks, environmentally themed art exhibitions, wildflower planting, poster competitions and more. Many of the events are open to local residents, as well as our students and staff, and will involve the participation of local businesses and other organisations. For full details follow the Green Month events link here —————————————————— We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of our Business Newsletter – we’ll be back with more next month! |