National award for Career Colleges student

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Gateshead College has achieved recognition for its Career Colleges programme with one of its students scooping a national award.

Alastair Miller was announced as winner of the Student of the Year for 14-16 year olds at a Career Colleges event in London earlier this month.

A student at Joseph Swan School, Alastair has been attending Gateshead College once a week to complete a qualification in Design, Engineering and Construction alongside his GCSEs. Developed in partnership with businesses, the course gives young people the opportunity to find out about careers in the built environment and gives them hands on experience in industry.

As part of the course, Alastair worked on a live brief set by Newcastle-based property and construction consultancy firm Turner Townsend to design a building using Revit software. Along with his classmates, he also had the opportunity to visit one of their construction projects and gain an insight into how buildings are designed and built.

Alastair received the national award on the back of the quality of work undertaken on the Turner Townsend project and he was also recognised for his hard work and commitment throughout the course.

Commenting on his award win, Alastair said: “It’s amazing to have been given this award for something I have really enjoyed doing. The course has been brilliant and it’s definitely made me think about having a career in this industry.

“The course not only gave me an insight into the built environment and the potential careers in that area but it also really helped me improve my maths. It was really useful to see how maths is used in a work setting.

“I also had the chance to develop my team working skills and I’ll be able to use everything I’ve learned in the future. It’s been a great experience.”

The Career Colleges Trust is a national network that aims to increase the range and choice of vocational education opportunities for 14-19 year olds. With employers and Further Education (FE) colleges working closely together, this unique and innovative model of education is helping to address the growing skills gaps we are seeing in the UK.

Thu Mar 28 2024