Harrogate College students have been snapping up the chance to enjoy a fully funded work experience adventure in the United States.

We have teamed up with Camp America to secure dozens of camp placements, for students aged 18 or over, in the States this summer.

More than 40 students have now signed up but more places are still available for anyone who applies by 17 April.

The experience is designed to hone students’ employability skills while giving them a chance to enjoy a different country and meet new friends.

All travel, accommodation and living costs will be covered on the trip via £5,000 of student funding from the Turing Scheme.

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

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, March 2022 Dear Partners, March was Green Month at Harrogate College and we were delighted to collaborate with local businesses, community groups and residents on a variety of environmental events. To tie in with the month, we also introduced our carbon literacy training for students and staff as part of our ongoing commitment to sustainability. Always pleased to work closely with local firms, we were pleased to team up with two Harrogate College Employers’ Network members in March – one who came in to give a talk, while another welcomed a visiting group of our students. Some hospitality students, meanwhile, gained valuable insights into the demands of large-scale catering by visiting Rudding Park, where they were given a guided tour. And two of our Creative Practice MA students, who have now set up their own studio space, impressed the public with their fantastic final year showing. We hope you enjoy the read. Danny Wild Principal Harrogate College Green shoots – and carbon literacy Some local businesses played a leading role in our Green Month activities during March. Techbuyer & Ortial Technologies gave a workshop on Sustainable Technology and How It Affects You. Twelve students and three members of staff took part, and enjoyed a presentation followed by a practical session which involved opening up laptops to see which components were salvageable. Other Green Month events included a talk on Designing the Purposeful Career, a presentation from food waste charity Too Good To Go, and an art competition. Meanwhile, as part of the college’s push to reduce our environmental impact, we have begun to train all of our staff and students in carbon literacy. We are excited to also offer this training to local businesses. For more on Green Month click here. ————————— Rudding Park trip Our hospitality students enjoyed a guided tour of Rudding Park as part of their enrichment activities – and to prepare them for a week of work experience with a variety of local businesses. The trip gave them a fantastic opportunity to see a large, full-scale catering and food production operation up close – and to sample some of the food the hotel grows in its own kitchen garden. Read the full story here. —————————— Building business links Tracey Hopkins from Springfield Healthcare visited the college to give a ‘day in the life of a healthcare worker’ talk to some of our Level 3 learners. Tracey also gave tips about future careers in the sector during a really engaging presentation. Course leader David Gaunt, meanwhile, took a group of Business level 3, year 1 students out to visit a high profile local firm, Techbuyer. The students were shown around all of the business’s departments and briefed about the next stage of their link-up, which will involve going through mock interviews. David said: “This will form part of their grade for the course and is obviously excellent real world experience.” —————————— Art and commerce Two of our students who have been studying a Master’s degree in Creative Practice 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.  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. Read more here. ——————————- We hope you’ve enjoyed this edition of our Business Newsletter – we’ll be back with more next month!

Harrogate College unequivocally condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the terrible suffering and loss of life it is causing.

We stand in solidarity with all of the Ukrainians who are enduring this war, including the millions who have been forced to flee their homeland and seek refuge in other countries.

As an education provider, we cherish the principles of diversity, inclusion and tolerance that are at the heart of democratic societies which respect the dignity of the individual and freedom of thought and expression.

Indeed, tolerance, kindness, inclusivity and respecting others are some of the college’s core values – values we strive to live by as we go about our task of delivering life-changing opportunities through quality education.

It is such values, however, that authoritarianism and its consequences, of which this unprovoked invasion is a shockingly stark example, seeks to destroy. 

We are also painfully aware that this crisis is far from an isolated event. Instead, it is the latest – and from our European perspective, due to its proximity and severity, most shocking – example of a wider and ongoing pattern of conflict that has created refugees around the world. 

Whenever such crises arise it is vital that we respond with compassion and conviction, while continuing to uphold and defend our values.

And so it is now when we realise that many parts of the college, and wider, community are being affected by the events in Ukraine and will need our support. That includes our Russian students, many of whom will be opposed to the war, and all of whom – of course – have a right to feel respected and safe.

In terms of what we are doing specifically, the college:

• Is providing information and advice resources, including details on how to support refugees, via its Student Information Hub.
• Has held an Ice Coffee for Ukraine event to help UNICEF support victims of the invasion. This is one of several fundraising activities that are being organised by the students’ union which has also started a campaign, Us Against War.
• Looking into how we can support one or our students, Kinga Goldsmith, as she coordinates local efforts to collect and transport items for Ukrainian refugees to Poland.

Hospitality students from Harrogate College have enjoyed an educational tour of Rudding Park.

Fifteen hospitality students were guided around the luxury hotel, and given an insight into its catering facilities and procedures, by Chef Consultant Stephanie Moon.

The March trip was organised to prepare the students, who have all secured roles with a variety of local employers, for a work experience week while enriching their studies.

Perfect preparation for work

Harrogate College’s Cultural, Contemporary and Heritage Studies Programme Manager, Jason Parry, said: “This was a great experience for our students, and good preparation for their work placements.

“They were given a welcome toast and then, as part of the guided tour by Stephanie, shown various suites including the impressive ‘home cinema’ room.

“We were also shown around the multiple kitchen and food production areas which are used to produce food for the entire site. These led to the amazing kitchen gardens where we saw a variety of food being grown to sustain the kitchens – and a few of our more adventurous students tried some of the more unusual plants!”

A resilient industry

Harrogate College, which runs a range of hospitality and professional cookery courses,  has been working closely with local businesses to help the sector recover from the impact of the pandemic and repeated lockdowns.

That effort has been strengthened through  the creation of the Harrogate College Employers’ Network, which launched in 2021.

So the visiting students and staff were pleased to hear encouraging news on that front from Rudding Park’s leadership team.

Jason added: “We finished the tour with some inspirational talks by key members of the management team, who shared their love for the industry and the opportunities it can provide.

“They also shared their post-Covid plan for recruiting and retaining staff, which really shows how the industry can meet the current needs of the employees’ market. This is a real win for our students and the industry, showing its post-pandemic resilience.”

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.

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.

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/.