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Ealing Times
Article – December 2007
Supporting
Skills Training
One of the more
pleasant duties of being a Member of Parliament is to get away from
Parliament into the real world and meet dedicated people tirelessly
working to improve our local community. I met one such group of
people when I recently visited the Ealing, Hammersmith & West
London College (EHWLC) for the launch of the West London Student
Trust.
Ealing,
Hammersmith & West London College is a great local success
story. It is one of the largest further education (FE) Colleges in
the UK, with over 22,000 students and nearly 1,000 staff across
four sites in West London (Acton, Ealing, Hammersmith and Southall)
and in the community. An Ofsted/ALI inspection in November 2006
resulted in 94 out of 100 College areas judged as good or
outstanding and positioned EHWLC as the ‘best FE College in west
London’. The College provides high-quality education and training
to promote participation in lifelong learning and was awarded
Beacon College Status in May 2007, thanks to its ‘innovation and
excellence’.
I am very proud
of the work that EHWLC is doing and congratulate all of the staff
and students on their excellent efforts. In the competitive global
economy that we now live in it is vital that local people are given
opportunities to develop the skills that they need to gain
employment and that local businesses have a ready supply of trained
workers to enable them to develop their companies. The recent
Leitch Report to government placed renewed emphasis on the
importance to the economy of investing in skills.
I am personally
committed to ensuring that the government provides the right
quantity and mix of financial support for all our FE colleges
including continued ESOL funding for the large numbers of local
students who need help to improve their English and also entry
level 1 and 2 support for those students with a low skills
base.
I am also
committed to the new West London Student Trust that will provide
financial support for those students who for one reason or another
risk falling through the cracks and missing out on life changing
opportunities, and have agreed to be the Trust’s Patron. Any one
interested in donating to the fund should contact EHWLC on 0800 034
0383.
Virendra Sharma
MP
5th December
2007
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Supporting Skills Training
