The Learning Revolution Trust

5 November 2021

2021 Shining Stars Ceremony

Newham College’s annual Shining Stars Student Awards Ceremony took take place on Thursday, 21st October at the college's East Ham campus and as usual honoured the accomplishments of our students over the past year.

Each award was sponsored by a business or organisation for the college’s chosen charity, the Learning Revolution Trust (LRT). Winners from every area and level of the college were awarded trophies whilst nominees received highly commended certificates. Their achievements included representing the college and its values positively, gaining consistently good grades, making outstanding contributions to college life, moving into successful employment, promoting equality and diversity and much more.

This year’s guests included guest speaker Althea Loderick, Chief Executive of Newham Borough Council and other well-known supporters of the college and trust, including UK fashion icon Dame Zandra Rhodes and Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham. The event was attended by prominent business sponsors and members of the press and media.

Since it was established in 2012, the Trust has supported over 960 students. Sponsorship of the Shining Stars raised £61,050 this year and this money will be used by the Trust to continue to support learners facing particular financial difficulties and who may otherwise not be able to further their education, training or employment.

19 October 2021

London City Airport Community Fund supports young people in Newham to get local jobs

An exciting new initiative backed by London City Airport is helping young people in Newham to get the training and work experience they need to access apprenticeship and job opportunities.

The RELAUNCH programme was developed by a partnership between east London education charity, the Learning Revolution Trust, Newham College of Further Education and Newham Chamber of Commerce with the support of a grant from London City Airport’s Community Fund to help young people whose job prospects have been hit by the COVID crisis. The programme will be taking place during October and November and will support 20 young people experiencing particular hardship.

It will consist of a 6 week digital boot camp which will offer accelerated access to the skills needs for this sector. The course will include employer involvement as well as an employment fair and include ‘next steps’ advice and guidance and small grants to provide support with the costs of making the transition from training to the world of work such as initial support with travel costs, and suitable clothing for interviews. Students taking part will be awarded qualifications which will increase their chances of getting jobs or moving into apprenticeships.

Parin Bahl, Chair of the Learning Revolution Trust welcomed the funding and said that the programme had provided a model for the kind of response needed to address the economic impact of the pandemic on communities like Newham.

“This exciting programme will build on a range of programmes which have already had a significant impact on many young people in Newham. We have found that a flexible programme which links targeted skills training, work experience and financial support for young people, can help them to overcome the extra challenges which the pandemic has created. This programme couldn’t have taken place without the invaluable support of London City Airport. Their investment in local people has helped us to offer a new and dynamic approach to supporting young people.

Nazmin Begum, Community Engagement & Sustainability Manager, London City Airport, said:

“The London City Airport Community Fund is pleased to have awarded a grant to the Learning Revolution Trust to support the RELAUNCH employability training programme for young people in Newham. It has been a difficult 18 months for our local community, especially young adults who have been out of work and searching for jobs. We hope this funding will enable the Learning Revolution Trust to equip young East Londoners with the confidence and experience they need to develop their skills and progress into employment.”

4 October 2021

The Learning Revolution Trust partners with Westfield Stratford City to get young people into work

An exciting new initiative in partnership with Westfield Stratford City, to help young people in the borough of Newham get the training and work experience they need to access apprenticeship and job opportunities has proven to be a resounding success.

The RELAUNCH programme was developed through a partnership between East London education charity, the Learning Revolution Trust and Newham College with the support of a grant in May 2021 from Westfield, in line with their Better Places 2030 strategy which aims to help young people whose job prospects were affected by the COVID crisis. Westfield supported 25 young people experiencing hardship.

The majority of these young people took part in a seven-week course which included employability and vocational skills training, a work experience placement, ‘next steps’ advice and guidance, and small grants to provide support with the costs of making the transition from training to the world of work. They were supported with travel costs and suitable clothing for interviews which have resulted in all students now having acquired qualifications that will increase their chances of getting jobs.

Over a third have moved directly into apprenticeships and jobs, and the remaining have progressed into further learning including to university.

Parin Bahl, Chair of the Learning Revolution Trust, said that the programme had provided a model for the kind of response needed to address the economic impact of the pandemic on communities like Newham.

“The results of this exciting programme have exceeded our expectations. It shows that a flexible programme which links targeted skills training, work experience and financial support for young people, can have a major impact in helping them to overcome the extra challenges the pandemic has created. The programme couldn’t have taken place without the invaluable support of Westfield Stratford City.

“Their investment in local people has helped us to create a new and dynamic approach to supporting young people. We are currently working with our partners to build on this flexible approach to give young people a headstart into the world of work as well as offering progress into education and training.”

Alyson Hodkinson, General Manager of Westfield Stratford City said, “We’re delighted to launch the Westfield Stratford City Student Fund in partnership with the Learning Revolution Trust, supporting 25 talented students experiencing financial hardship in East London.

“Supporting and nurturing the future talent of our local Newham community is hugely important to work towards a brighter future for our area.”

27 June 2019

2019 Shining Stars Ceremony

The annual Shining Stars Student Awards Ceremony honours students who have made extraordinary accomplishments in 2019. Each award was sponsored by a business or organisation for the college's chosen charity, the Learning Revolution Trust (LRT). Winners from every area and level of the College are awarded trophies whilst nominees receive highly commended certificates. Their achievements included representing the College and its values positively, gaining consistently good grades, making outstanding contributions to College life, moving into successful employment, promoting equality and diversity and much more.

Guests included UK fashion icon Dame Zandra Rhodes, Labour MP of East Ham, Stephen Timms, and members of the press and businesses sponsoring the awards. Six-time Olympian and gold medallist, Tessa Sanderson CBE co-hosted the ceremony alongside Andrew Mitchell of Newham College.

Celebrity guests included Governor and guest speaker, Bobby Seagull, also known for his University Challenge appearance on the BBC, as well as guest speaker, The Chase's ‘Dark Destroyer’ Shaun Wallace. The ceremony opened up by a catwalk show from the College's hair, beauty and fashion students performing in front of an audience of over 350.

The Learning Revolution Trust supports disadvantaged students suffering financial and social barriers by offering them support grants to help them continue in education and training as well as progress to employment. This year, the LRT helped over 650 students and raising a staggering £57,419 to help students suffering hardship, the most since its formation in 2012.

News

Newham College Business Partners and Learning Revolution Trust Dinner

The Newham College Business Partners and Learning Revolution Trust dinner was held on Thursday 14^th March 2019 at The Auditorium, Newham College of Further Education.

The dinner was held in honour of Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, who was guest speaker and celebrated his 25 years of exceptional service to the community, education and businesses across East Ham.

It was an opportunity to introduce the Newham College Business Partners (NCBP) initiative to new businesses and to report on the activities of some of our current NCBP member businesses.

It was also a way of thanking current and potential new sponsors of the Learning Revolution Trust (LRT) for their generosity and support for the trust in its mission to ‘Inspire Lives’ and make further education accessible to everyone who can benefit from it, regardless of their circumstances.

News

Fit for the Future: Skills 4 Local London Conference

The ‘Fit for the Future; Skills 4 Local London’ conference was jointly sponsored by the Local London partnership of 8 east London borough councils, the London First business organisation and the Learning Revolution Trust.

The aim of the conference was to build on previous work by bringing together employers, local authorities and training providers to identify priorities for a Skills Action Plan for the sub region and work together to establish clear pathways to work in key sectors of the economy, upskill local residents and meet the skills needs of businesses more effectively in a constantly changing environment.

The five speakers at the conference were:

Martin Cumella - Chair, Learning Revolution Trust

Geoff Thompson - Chair of Governors, University of East London

Cllr Darren Rodwell - Leader of London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, Chair of Local London Skills and Employment Board

Steve Drury - Director of Rooff Ltd, Chair, London Region Construction Training Group

Sharon Allen - Chief Executive, Skills For Care

Jules Pipe - Deputy Mayor of London, Planning, Regeneration and Skills

The speakers each brought their perspectives as a local authority and Local London leader, a higher education leader, a business leader in a key sector of the sub regional economy, the Chief Executive of a national sector skills council for a growth sector and a London wide leader responsible for skills development in the city. Some of the main points raised included;

The challenges facing east London including a rapidly changing labour market, the potential impact of Brexit on the supply of talent and lower employment outcomes and rates of pay than elsewhere in the city
Opportunities for jobs growth in the ‘New East’ London and the need to ensure that local people can compete for the high value / high tech jobs being created so that no one is left behind and businesses can access the skills they need.
The need to create clear pathways to jobs in key employment sectors such as construction to make career opportunities more accessible and help employers to attract and retain staff .
The need to develop career pathways to support in work progression in health and social care and other sectors, and to ensure that employees can access learning opportunities throughout their working lives.
The devolution of adult skills funding to London will help to ensure that funding is better focussed on achieving outcomes for Londoners and London’s businesses. Further devolution is needed in careers advice, unspent apprenticeship levy money; EU replacement funding and other areas.
Strong collaboration is needed between stakeholders, including employers, local authorities and training providers to develop and implement effective skills strategies at city and sub regional levels. Local and regional expertise is an essential component of this. The vision for Local London is for a place which is ambitious for its economy, aspirational for its residents and courageous in its reforms.

News

The Shining Stars Ceremony

The Shining Stars Ceremony is held every year in recognition of the exceptional achievements that Newham College’s best students accomplish as well as recognising teachers for supporting the students' success. The Ceremony also raises vital money for The Learning Revolution Trust through sponsorship. The Shining Stars Ceremony was held in June at East Ham Auditorium. £52,537 was raised through sponsorship. There were 32 sponsors and supporters including Newham Recorder, London Borough of Newham, Aspers Casino, Gateway Qualifications, Newham Chamber of Commerce and Capita Managed IT Solutions.

News

Learning Revolution Trust Sponsors and Supporters Dinner

The LRT sponsors and supporters dinner was held in the EHC auditorium on 1 February 2018.

The dinner was hosted by Newham College Principal and Chief Executive Paul Stephen. Guests at the event included Stephen Timms MP and LRT sponsor Liesel Sharpe from Maze 8 Recruitment.

LRT beneficiaries Amy Leigh Burton, Lateef Shooluwe and Shakira Faith Musasizi also spoke about the ways in which they had been supported by the charity and how that support had helped them complete their education or access career opportunities.