The pandemic has shown the importance of the health and care workforce. Yet, this is a sector that has an urgent need to fill skills gaps. Colleges have a big role to play in strengthening the current and future workforce, and in improving wider determinants of health. At Edinburgh College, we are learning lessons about how to do this in a collaborative and blended way.

I have always upheld the view that in education – particularly the FE sector – leaders should endeavour to do the right thing, put their local communities and employers first, treat their staff with kindness and respect and work in partnership to achieve this.

“Climate change and sustainability are at the heart of what we do”… how many organisations can truly say that? Here @DandGCollege we can proudly say this, having embedded climate change action into our College way of life since 2014  As a college, we don’t just see sustainability as another target we have to achieve each year. We believe in the need to take action for the benefit of our local communities, for our region which thrives on attracting people to its clean and beautiful tourist attractions, and ultimately for the long-term sustainability of the College as an organisation. There is no greater civic mission than this, acknowledging that what we do can have an impact on others and on the world, preserving the it for future generations.

Colleges’ understanding of their role and contribution to the growth and prosperity of the economy in Northern Ireland is driven by a fundamental commitment to a dual mandate supporting both economic (business) development and social inclusion.

@CollegeComm - The UK needs a new vision for colleges to drive a green economic recovery and better living standards  Geoff Barton (General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders), Lord Bob Kerslake (Former Head of the UK Government Civil Service) and Mary Curnock Cook OBE (Former Chief Executive of UCAS) have come together to contribute to a report shining a spotlight on the transformative role that colleges must play in economic recovery, and future prosperity and sustainability.