Ufi Partnership Programme With Association Of Colleges

Association of Colleges (AoC) will receive funding from Ufi to carry out research into colleges’ current capacity to enable high quality distance learning. 

Findings from the research will be used to create a series of articles which provide solutions and share successes to the biggest challenges faced when implementing and delivering digital teaching, learning and assessment.  

Ufi will be working with a number of organisations over the next few months with targeted funding to support projects in range of communities with interests in vocational and learning technologies.

Ufi’s Partnership Programme is one of a number of strategies put into action by Ufi as a specific response to the unprecedented impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on the vocational training and learning sector.

Other Ufi activities have included the introduction of a specific funding call for vocational learning and training organisations and a dedicated ‘VocTech How To’ webinar series which aims to support organisations looking to take their business and delivery online.

Rebecca Garrod-Waters, chief executive of Ufi VocTech Trust said:

UfI VocTech Trust are supporting AoC to ensure colleges are supported to collectively overcome challenges to delivering online provision at scale. 

Ufi is very pleased to be able to support the AOC and its delivery of this invaluable piece of work. The findings of this research and the insight it will provide will be crucial in developing understanding of colleges’ current capacity to enable high quality distance learning. 

As a charity with a mission to support the development and implementation of technology that can support vocational learning and training, we know that the sector is facing enormous challenges. We are working with AoC to support the sector in a way that wil help with the immediate challenge and also strengthen colleges for the future.

Ufi’s Partnership programme, through which AOC is being supported, is one of a number of specific strategies that Ufi VocTech Trust has implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the vocational learning and training sector. 

We are proud that through the projects that will be delivered, Ufi will be supporting learning opportunities for millions of people across the country.

David Corke, AoC’s Director of Education and Skills Policy said:

We will be entirely collaborative and draw on our trusted sector and agency relationships, working with vendors and leading EdTech colleges to help ensure that everyone can access learning and training provision during these uncertain and unprecedented times.

Colleges have had to move at a rapid pace to deliver digital teaching, learning and assessment in a completely new way. Now is the time to think long-term and we thank Ufi for providing us with the opportunity to work on a much-needed strategy for the future. For businesses to get the skilled people they need, allow those in training already to stay motivated and begin to think about re-structuring, innovation and new technology for post-16 education.

Kate Atha, Head of Communications for Ufi VocTech Trust