“Our mission is to make learning accessible to all”. A bold statement from the Open University, but one they continuously strive to achieve. As well as famously offering distance learning courses for over 50 years, The Open University (OU) has branched out further, offering more opportunities to the youth of our constituency.
The OU has recently announced a programme of support for the students of Barking and Dagenham College which will see an increase in the number of higher education courses they are able to offer. The OU National Validation Programme, initially announced last year, is funded with £10 million by the Department for Education through the Office for Students with the sole intention of enabling the OU to work with Further Education colleges in England, where there is a severe shortage of level 4 and 5 qualification provisions. Barking and Dagenham College is one of nine colleges who have successfully applied for the programme.
John Blake of the Office for Students said: “This expansion of technical skills training will help increase diversity and choice within higher education, providing students with greater access to courses so they can advance in their careers.” John continued with: “It is… a clear example of a university and colleges working together, supported by the Office for Students, to take responsibility for addressing gaps in technical education, and support graduates to contribute to local and regional economies across England.”
In the constituency of Dagenham and Rainham, as well as being one of the top 5 providers of Undergraduate Higher Education, 67% of OU Undergraduates were aged 30 or under when they started their studies and 16% of those were aged under 21*, highlighting the importance of this type of support for our youth.
The specialist support provided by the OU will be delivered over the next two years. This will see Barking and Dagenham College to offer advanced technical courses which directly correlate to local employer requirements. This, in turn, allows our youth to gain skills and confidence to secure employment with higher wages and grow the local economy.
Councillor Margaret Mullane has welcomed the programme saying “it is splendid and refreshing to see our young people receiving such invigorating support. I really look forward to seeing our youth make the most of this opportunity and shine”.
*Figures provided reflect the academic year 2020-2021
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