Mayor partners with colleges to upskill students into local jobs

10 February 2025

A new partnership between West Yorkshire’s Mayor and seven Further Education colleges aims to upskill students into local jobs to support businesses and grow the economy.

Announcing the Further Education partnership, which has been signed by the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges and every college Principal in the region, Mayor Tracy Brabin pledged to “put more money in people’s pockets” by ensuring that college courses better reflect local job opportunities.

According to the agreement published today (10 February), every college across Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield will work to strengthen their relationships with local businesses to respond to their skills needs, including through the co-creation of courses to guarantee direct pathways into good jobs.

The agreement follows the publication of the multibillion-pound West Yorkshire Local Growth Plan, which promises joined up action on skills, housing and transport to build an eco-system that supports small and medium-sized firms to grow and succeed.

Through deeper devolution and partnership working with colleges, the Mayor aims to build a skills system that can support the region’s fastest-growing business sectors, including financial and professional services, advanced manufacturing and engineering, and health and life sciences.

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said:

“Here in West Yorkshire, we’re building a region of learning and creativity, with our seven excellent colleges equipping our residents with the skills they need to flourish.

“But to realise the enormous potential of our economy, we must revolutionise our approach to skills training, with a relentless focus on the jobs and the sectors of the future.

“By working in partnership with business, we’ll ensure that every college graduate has a clear pathway into employment, supporting them to put more money in their pockets and contribute to a stronger, brighter economy.”

David Malone, Principal of Calderdale College and Chair of the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges, said:

“As a consortium of colleges, we understand that skills are the cornerstone of an inclusive and thriving economy. By equipping our learners with the right skills, we not only empower them, but unlock growth and prosperity for the entire region.

“The opportunities present within West Yorkshire’s businesses and high-growth sectors, coupled with the Mayor’s investments in mass transit and housing retrofit, highlight the critical need for a robust and adaptable talent pipeline for the region.

“As Further Education Colleges, we stand ready to meet these demands and ensure our workforce can seize these opportunities. Our shared vision is of a skills system that meets the needs of our communities and employers, now and in the future.”

West Yorkshire’s seven Further Education colleges supported the learning of over 60,000 students in 2023, helping them to access higher education or training or progress into well-paid local employment, with over 90% of West Yorkshire’s workers also living within the region.

However, more than a third of all job vacancies in West Yorkshire are estimated to result from skills shortages, rising to 55% in the construction industry. Filling this skills gap will be essential for the Mayor to deliver her infrastructure priorities, including a new Mass Transit system for West Yorkshire, starting with tramlines connecting Leeds and Bradford.

The region’s new Further Education partnership aims to build on these successes and address these challenges through five priorities:

• Building a thriving and stable Further Education sector in West Yorkshire, where residents can easily access the skills they need to flourish, and colleges are supported to recruit and retain the tutors they need.

• Delivering a forward-looking and agile learning offer, by working with businesses to maximise economic opportunities and ensure they have the skilled talent they need to grow and succeed.

• Developing an inclusive further education offer that is responsive and sensitive to the needs of learners, with accessible entry points and progression into local employment for all, and targeted support for those without basic Maths, English or employability skills.

• Ensuring strong relationships with West Yorkshire’s business base, including through the expansion of co-funded and co-developed technical and vocational courses, to meet employers’ skills needs and boost the region’s fastest growing business sectors.

• Establishing better ways of working between the Consortium of Colleges and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, to maximise the effectiveness and efficiency of devolved funding through reduced bureaucracy, increased engagement, and deeper collaboration on curriculums.

The colleges which are part of the Consortium and which have signed up to the partnership are Bradford College, Calderdale College, the Heart of Yorkshire Education Group, Kirklees College, the Leeds College of Building, Shipley College, and Luminate Education Group, which includes Leeds City College and Keighley College.