During the current set up phase, people often ask us “what is the new National Land Based College (NLBC)?” and until we’ve set up our web site there isn’t an easily accessible reference available, so let us explain; NLBC has the simple overarching ambition of supporting training and development for land based industries. We describe NLBC as being positioned in the middle of the triangle of existing land based colleges, awarding bodies and land based industries – encouraging linkages, collaboration and working towards three distinct objectives:
- Develop land based qualifications that are ‘fit for purpose’ in partnership with City and Guilds, to be delivered to students in the existing land based colleges.
- Create professional development programmes, from one-day courses, up to degree level, for those already employed in land based industries (UK & worldwide), to be delivered using various contemporary technologies and blended learning approaches.
- Promote land based careers and create an employee register to support their career development.
NLBC will deliver as a virtual college, using a hub and spoke model, with a central hub of infrastructure and staffing, located in the heart of the UK, supported by the spokes – high quality centres of excellence around the UK. These centres will be venues to deliver the face-to-face elements of the blended learning courses and will include both colleges and industry workplaces, and close employer involvement will be key in planning and delivering these. Contemporary online interactive technologies are fundamental to the model.
NLBC was officially launched at the House of Lords on May 10 2016. A fantastic setting and the event went as well as we could have hoped; with a great attendance from right across the land based sector, a great buzz, the talks all went really well, and George Eustice, the Minister of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), delivered the last speech and launched NLBC.
We hired Jonathan Ward @GingerHort to do the photography and videography and Johanna Dollerson @johdoll to be our Press Officer. We had some good press coverage, including this Farmers Weekly article.
Other highlights in May have been working with Nick at Penknife Design on the NLBC logo and branding, launching the tender for the website, further partnership working with City and Guilds, attending the Royal Horticultural Society Education Committee, Landex Blended Learning CPD Event and the Ornamental Roundtable’s Employment Working Group.
