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Dudley College recovers Saudi monies

Lowell Williams Chief Executive Officer of Dudley College of Technology

College confirms Saudi monies in the bank

Dudley College of Technology is pleased to confirm receipt of outstanding payments from Colleges of Excellence in Saudi Arabia for activity the College had completed under a Capacity Building Contract (CBC) in Hafr Al Batyn. The College recently terminated its work in Saudi Arabia due to ongoing delays in receiving payments.

Confirming the payment, Lowell Williams Chief Executive Officer of Dudley College of Technology explained:  

ā€œIn total the College was owed over Ā£0.5m for work delivered as part of the CBC project in Hafr-Al-Batyn Girls College. I regret that we could not have resolved this issue earlier. We would have liked to continue our good work in the Kingdom and complete the project which was due to run until 2020. Unfortunately further payment delays would have forced the College to use UK public funds to sustain the cash flow of the CBC project. We did not feel this was appropriate, nor were we in a position to continue working at risk.

“I am grateful the Saudi government has now honoured their commitment under this contract. I acknowledge the critical role the UKā€™s Department for Trade and Industry has played in bringing this mater to a resolution.

“We extend our very best wishes for a successful future to the staff and students in Hafr Al Batyn. We do not rule out working in the Kingdom in the future, if a mutually beneficial opportunity arises, but we have no immediate plans to this effect.”

Dudley College is one of the most successful further education colleges in the UK, providing a wide range of education and training programmes across the West Midlands enrolling some12,000 students each year across four thousand academic and technical programmes, on both a full and part-time basis.

In 2017/18 Dudley College supported 4,006 young people on full-time skills based programmes and. A further 3,040 adults were studying a wide range of skills programmes with an additional 487 learners on higher level skills programmes. Achievement rates for full time young people and adults on college based programmes remain high often significantly above national rates. A level achievements are also high and above national rates.

Dudley College has been at the forefront of delivering high levels of growth in apprenticeship numbers in the region. In 2017/18 Dudley College supported 1,379 young people and 2,474 adults in Apprenticeships. With an overall achievement rate significantly above national rates the college is well placed to continue to deliver advanced and higher level technical qualifications to meet the regionā€™s skills needs.

In 2017 Ofsted rated Dudley College as ā€œoutstandingā€.


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