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    21

    Oct 2021

    Last Updated: 21/10/2021
    Business
    Business

    Harrogate College meets local firms to fix skills gap

    by Connor Creaghan

    | 21 Oct, 2021
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    The college invited local businesses to the launch event today. Businesses from the likes of health and social care, hospitality and manufacturing all turned up to explain their needs.

    harrogate-college-jobs-network
    Principal Danny Wild and organiser Holly Hansen-Maughan.

    More than 30 businesses from across the Harrogate district attended the first Employers' Network at Harrogate College to help shape the future workforce.

    The college invited local businesses to the launch event today. Businesses from the likes of health and social care, hospitality and manufacturing all turned up to explain their needs.

    Harrogate College will now use the information it has gathered to alter its existing courses and create new courses to fit that demand.

    Principal Danny Wild told the Stray Ferret:

    "It's gone really well. The idea of the employer network is to find the key skill gaps that local businesses have.
    "We want people leaving the college to have the right skills to get jobs. We also want to help those employers looking to grow."
    "This is the start of the Employers' Network. It has an infinite timeline as businesses grow and change."
    "We are a growing business in a niche market in converting classic cars to electric. One of our biggest struggles we find, as we want to grow, is recruiting.
    "When the industry is brand new it is difficult so getting in at the grassroots level with the college is a good first step for us."


    Mike Kaye, managing director at Energy Oasis, also said:

    "I have come here because I really want Harrogate College to be at the forefront of renewable technologies.
    "I want them to be able to develop a curriculum that will facilitate the young people in Harrogate, to be able to get secure jobs in the green environment."