Kirklees College secures funding for major investment in Creative Industries

Kirklees College has secured £47k from the Government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) to invest in digital equipment for Creative Industries. The money will be invested in new DJ and music production equipment to help current and new students learn all the latest techniques. The new equipment will be put into the college’s music department at their Huddersfield Centre, creating a new Digital Learning Hub.

The money will also go towards expanding the work the college is currently doing with Model Citizens, a local community group who help hard to reach students get into the creative arts through music, DJ, photography and video editing workshops.

The Model Citizens programme supports young people who are often NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) status, don’t have high disposable income and are vulnerable to exploitation and involvement in crime overcome the challenges they face. This new funding will allow Model Citizens to continue their work with our students, including producing their regular podcast which informs the wider community about health, wellbeing and digital inclusion to make a positive impact on the lives of young people and their families.

On Thursday 7 March, Kirklees College and Model Citizens attended an event at Dean Clough Mills in Halifax, organised by Calderdale College who are leading on the Creative Industries Digital Innovation LSIF fund. The event celebrated the new funding and investment for West Yorkshire Colleges, managed through the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges.

Speaking about the event, Warren Dunn, Curriculum Area Manager for Creative Industries at Kirklees College said:

“This event was a fantastic opportunity to share the work we are planning to do with the LSIF fund with other West Yorkshire colleges. This investment will vastly improve our music production provision for current and prospective students of Kirklees College and we are very excited to continue to partner with Model Citizens to create opportunities in the sector for the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

Kirklees College has also secured funding for digital innovation in Advanced Manufacturing, Construction and Teaching and Learning through the LSIF. The college is leading on the Advanced Manufacturing project with a collaboration of other West Yorkshire colleges, which will see a range of new equipment, including 3D printers, installed at their specialist Engineering Centre. Kirklees College’s share of the total £6.9 million will go a long way into improving the already specialised vocational curriculum it provides to tailor learning for students to the digital demands of Britain’s modern workplace.

Find out more about Model Citizens (Facebook link) and learn more about the Local Skills Improvement Fund investing in West Yorkshire colleges.