Council leader celebrates growth of Halesowen College and ambitious plans for the future
The Leader of Dudley Council, Councillor Patrick Harley, has praised the success and expansion of Halesowen College, highlighting its growing role in providing skills, training and employment opportunities for local people.
Student numbers at the college have more than doubled since the Covid-19 pandemic, rising from around 3,000 to more than 6,000.
The college launched a new construction curriculum in September of this year and has almost 350 learners at its Amber Way site. Councillor Harley said many of these learners may otherwise have been at risk of becoming not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Currently operating across eight sites across Halesowen, the college is looking at developing a further site dedicated to hospitality training to help meet skills needs within the sector.
Dudley Council invested in the refurbishment of vacant floors at the college’s Trinity Point campus using Local Regeneration Funding provided by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. The investment built on Halesowen College’s own acquisition of the seven-storey east wing of Trinity Point, which was transformed into a digital technology and media centre of excellence featuring esports labs, TV and media studios, specialist teaching spaces and collaborative learning areas.
Together, these investments have supported the college’s expansion, increasing capacity for hundreds of learners while helping to address local skills shortages and improve routes into education, training and employment.
Councillor Patrick Harley, Leader of Dudley Council, said:
“Halesowen College’s growth is a real success story. Student numbers have doubled, new training opportunities are being created, and the college is helping local people gain the skills employers need. The plans for a hospitality site show its ambition for the future.”
Jacquie Carman, Principal and Chief Executive of Halesowen College, said:
“This year has been a really exciting time for Halesowen College as we have seen the expansion of our offer to now include a construction curriculum, one that creates opportunities for learners in an industry that is experiencing significant growth. This development has already made an impact, and we look forward to developing training opportunities for our future learners.”
The college offers a broad range of A Levels, T Levels, apprenticeships, higher education and adult learning programmes, while working closely with employers to support skills development and economic growth.