Our Employer Pledge goes from strength to strength

Our Employer Partnership Pledge, launched in September 2021, continues to grow and strengthen as it approaches its first anniversary this year. The inspirational pledge aims to strengthen our links with industry and local employers, offering you further educational opportunities while benefitting the companies involved too. In its first year, the pledge has got off to a great start with more and more employers signing up and more and more opportunities opening up for our learners too.

In June, we held a networking event for employers at the premises of our latest pledgers, Tiny Rebel Brewery. Attendees were treated to insights into the progress of the pledge, a talk from Pro Steel Engineering Director Richard Selby, as well as the backstory of how Tiny Rebel began and a tour of their impressive award-winning brewery located just minutes away from Crosskeys Campus.

Beccy Legge, Head of People at Tiny Rebel, explained their reasons for joining the pledge:

“Tiny Rebel is passionate about offering opportunities that highlight alternative pathways into employment and being able to give experience of that, as well as being able to offer new skills and experience the world of work in a different way. We have always worked with local organisations and community groups to be able to give back and we felt this was the next step in that. Tiny Rebel is now the home of several Coleg Gwent alumni and we wanted to be able to celebrate this further with the future generation of the workforce.”

The event celebrated the onboarding of two new pledge partners, CITB Wales and Tiny Rebel, who have been welcomed into our employer family with anticipation. In total, 14 fantastic local companies have now pledged their commitment to working closely with Coleg Gwent, with the benefits to our learners and the companies already being seen in multiple areas.

Some of these successes include the launch of the Inspire to Achieve Supported Internships in partnership with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, student work placements at Bryn Meadows Hotel and Spa, the launch of a Cyber Hub in Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone in partnership with Admiral and Thales, and students being given the opportunity to use industrial scale machinery at Pro Steel Engineering. Not only are these opportunities benefitting the companies, but our learners are also gaining new skills, experiences and knowledge of the world of work thanks to the Employer Partnership Pledge.

We were delighted that so many of our employer partners were able to join us for this event, to celebrate the success of the initiative so far. There have been so many positive collaborations already this year, with organisations across a huge range of sectors getting involved. We’re very grateful for the time that they invest in our students to ensure the future prosperity of our local business area.

If you’re interested in working closely with Coleg Gwent and our students, you can find out more about getting your organisation involved with the Partnership Pledge here.