Harrogate College will start providing a selection of courses for adults in Ripon next month.
From June, the college will be running a Progression into Care course at Ripon Community House where it will also launch the first of a series of skills bootcamps.
The move, following talks with North Yorkshire Council, is designed to open up the college’s educational and training expertise to more people and businesses across the county.
Further courses, including in GCSE maths and English, are set to follow in September as part of a collaborative push, with North Yorkshire Council, to produce a cohesive local adult education offering.
Principal of Harrogate College, Danny Wild said:
“As our college has grown and established itself as an important education and training provider for the area, we have increasingly recognised the need to reach out to better support our local community.
“Harrogate is a great town that we’re proud to support, but it isn’t easily reachable for many people in other parts of the county.
“Having a course delivery site in Ripon, which is also easier to reach for people who live in places like Pateley Bridge and Boroughbridge, is an important step towards being more accessible to our community.
“We are working on this in partnership with North Yorkshire Council to make sure there are pathways from the community courses it is running through to higher level and more work-related studies.”
The skills workshops will share expertise across a range of topics with the first one, on social media marketing, being tailored towards helping smaller local businesses and entrepreneurs.
The college works closely with local businesses to ensure it is providing the training they need and hopes its move into Ripon will encourage more employers from the area to join its flourishing employers’ network.
Programme manager Matt Hanson said:
“We’re really excited to be offering adults in the Ripon area the opportunity to study with us.
“The skills bootcamps, as well as our GCSE offerings, are an important step towards job progression.
"We are also looking forward to working with Ripon’s businesses to create courses that meet their needs and build on the strengths of the local workforce.”
The college is exploring the practicalities of offering more courses, including in health and social care, at Ripon Community House as the year progresses.