East Midlands Chamber has entered a strategic partnership with West Nottinghamshire College.
The collaboration enables the college to share insight with the region’s business community and participate in Chamber discussions with political leaders. The college will also become a partner of Generation Next – the Chamber’s network for young professionals in the region.
Spanning nine campuses across Mansfield and Ashfield, the college is a major post-16 education and training provider, with 11,000 students and apprentices annually across most industry sectors.
The college was graded ‘good’ at its latest Ofsted inspection in 2023, with areas of outstanding provision and ‘strong’ contribution to meeting local skills needs highlighted.
Summary of West Nottinghamshire College awards:
- Lived Experience Charter Status
- Carer-Friendly Employer Status
- Rainbow Flag Award for LGBT+ Inclusion and Visibility
- East Midlands Chamber Nottinghamshire Business Award for Excellence in Collaboration (with Nottingham Trent University)
- East Midlands Chamber Nottinghamshire Business Award for Education and Business Partnership (with Thoresby Hall Hotel and Spa)
East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “We know that access to the right skills for business growth is key to the majority of businesses. I’m delighted to welcome the college as a strategic partner of the Chamber, to showcase the world class skills development taking place at the college to our members and the wider business community, to stimulate interest in student placements and internships and for this partnership to be a conduit to bring the worlds of employment and education together in North Nottinghamshire.”
West Nottinghamshire College Principal and Chief Executive Andrew Cropley MBE said: “I’m delighted to formalise our already strong relationship with East Midlands Chamber into this strategic partnership. Not only do we want to continue to improve our offer to businesses to meet their skills needs, but we are determined to support and challenge them to offer even better opportunities to local people to progress their careers within our communities.
“We need to work hand in glove with businesses to ensure that our area supports the government in its growth ambitions and the East Midlands Mayor in delivering her priorities, particularly in relation to inclusive growth. Our superb estate and facilities, our responsive and inclusive curriculum, and our productive partnerships put us in a great place to achieve this. Indeed, this strategic relationship with the Chamber will provide yet more opportunities to engage with, and be challenged by, local businesses to fulfil our potential.”
West Nottinghamshire College successes include the creation of unique partnerships with NTU and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, boosting access to higher education and opening NHS careers, launching the Mansfield Town Football Academy, delivering a national trailblazer course with the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity and providing a nationally unique bus pass for its students, increasing education accessibility.
Capital investments have led to creation of a dedicated sixth form campus, an adult learning centre, a hub for students with additional needs, a construction training centre and the UK’s first Gene Haas Centre for Advanced Manufacturing.
The college is a key partner in the £30m project to create the Automated Distribution and Manufacturing Centre in Ashfield, opening in 2026.
