Chief Executive’s foreword

Cumbria Colleges Ltd is a brand new company formed by the four FE colleges in Cumbria. We are committed to working closely with agencies, employers and others to upskill the Cumbrian workforce to enhance competitiveness, prosperity and inclusiveness.

Our goal is the common goal of all employers no matter which sector they operate in; a better, more capable workforce. To achieve this we believe the development and delivery of training must be flexible enough to accommodate the differing needs and agendas of those employers.

We’ve joined up and simplified the route to relevant and accessible workforce training. Seamless cross-College co-ordination has broken down artificial geographic and cross-curriculum barriers. One county wide access point ensures employers operating across Cumbria can find high quality, consistent training available locally.

The scale of the Colleges’ collaboration, a combined turnover of some £35 million and over 24,00 students, represents a powerful new voice for Cumbria and the chance to make a real and lasting contribution to the local economy. We’ll do this by continually developing and improving, by engaging with employers and making them central to this process. The services we offer and how and where we provide it are set to only one agenda - yours.

This business plan maps out how we will achieve that agenda over the next two years.

Helen Eyre, Chief Executive, November 2005