THE MERGER of colleges in Worcester and Redditch will take place in August it has been announced.
Worcester College of Technology will formally amalgamate with North East Worcestershire College in a bid to improve training for businesses and increase opportunities for students.
Both organisations asked consultants KPMG to look at different options for how the colleges could work together and a merger into a new body was recommended and later approved in October last year.
The new organisation will be known as Worcestershire College, subject to approval by the Government, however campuses in Redditch, Bromsgrove, Malvern and Worcester will all be retained and courses currently offered on all four sites will continue.
Stuart Laverick, principal of Worcester College of Technology, has been chosen to head up the new organisation, with NEW College principal John Callaghan leaving to take up a post at Solihull College.
Mr Laverick, who has been in his current position at the college on Deansway since 2010, said: “I am looking forward to leading the new Worcestershire College. It is a privilege.
“Drawing on the significant governance, staffing, partnership, learning, physical and financial resources both colleges provide will allow ‘Worcestershire College’ to make an outstanding impact on learning and economic activity across the county and wider region.”
The move is expected to allow both colleges to increase their income, better meet the needs of employers, work more with universities, improve their online provision and become more attractive to international students.
Although some jobs may be lost as a result of the merger, a spokesman said as both colleges had undergone significant transformation over the past few years no major changes were expected.
Neill Bucktin, chairman of the corporation of Worcester College of Technology, added: “I’ve always been impressed by Stuart’s energy, vision and commitment to the best interests of our students, qualities he demonstrated in abundance to the selection panel.
“I’m looking forward to working with him as we develop a new college for Worcestershire.”
