Springboard to Employment is part of Bishop Auckland’s regeneration plans. A £1.3 million investment in Bishop Auckland College aims to increase the number of people gaining qualifications in tourism, leisure, health and social care by 1,500. We spoke to students at the college about the difference this will make for young people in the town.
Samuel Copley and Katelyn Stephenson are studying Level 3 qualifications in health and social care at Bishop Auckland College.
Samuel:“I’ve got my first year in Level 3 just about completed. Then I’ve got September to June 2023 at college, then I’m hoping to continue working in a care home and hoping to become a senior care assistant at some point. My mum always used to say, we have a lot of elderly residents and she felt that I had a good ability to talk to them – that’s what made me think about it. At secondary school I decided to try it and see what it was like. If the course wasn’t available here, I would have had to go somewhere further away.
Katelyn:“More money will enable more students to learn and be more hands on. It’s important when you can see things in real life instead of just learning about it in a classroom. On this course you learn a lot of skills which can also feed into other qualifications.”
Abby Stapleton works with children at her old primary school in Weardale and is a student at Bishop Auckland College:“I’m doing a childcare apprenticeship. I work at the school and come to college part-time for the course. I live in Weardale, my school is in the area, and I drive to college once a week. Having investment in the college will get more people here. I only came here because they did the course that I wanted. If you have more facilities here, and more places, local students won’t have far to travel. Having more qualifications closer to home could also help keep more young people in the area. At the end I hope to have a job as a teaching assistant in SEND.”
Kesha Wilson is training to be a teaching assistant:“I’m on an apprenticeship, and it’s like training on the job. We’re learnt the theory side of being a teaching assistant, but I also gain on the job experience. I work in a school four days a week and have one day at college, and I get a qualification at the end of it. You can do a qualification on its own, but at the end of it you might not have any experience. Apprenticeships are handy for gaining that experience. There is an influx of people wanting jobs, so this investment will benefit more students long-term in being able to get jobs.”
