March 2022
Student Newsletter
Opening Welcome
Hi All, Welcome to another edition of the WLC Student Newsletter. This edition is packed full of enrichment workshops, job vacancies, past event updates, wellbeing tips and more. We hope you enjoy!
Ukraine
The situation is Ukraine is causing concern around the world – for those directly affected, perhaps due to being a Ukrainian national, having Ukrainian heritage or having family in Ukraine, this may be a time of particular stress.
For up to date information on what is happening in Ukraine, we suggest the BBC News website which is here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news Free calls: Tesco have allowed free calls and SMS to Ukraine for anyone just download the Tesco International Calling app (You don't have to be a Tesco mobile customer to use this) App info: https://www.tescointernationalcalling.com/ If you would like to speak to someone about how you are feeling, the college can offer a supportive ear – just email safeguarding@wlc.ac.uk and we will contact you directly.
Learning Resource Centre
Please note that the learning resources centres will be closed over the Easter holidays other than Hammersmith which will remain open from 10am-4pm everyday.
Social Media
Social Media Channels at West London College A great way to keep up to date with what’s happening at West London College is to follow us on our social media. Please see the channels we are on below and subscribe and follow as many as you like! Here are the accounts and the handles.
Instagram westlondoncollege Facebook @westlondoncol YouTube West London College LinkedIn West London College Twitter @westlondoncol
Covid Updates
In line with the new government announced guidelines it is no longer a requirement to wear masks around the college. We still strongly advise students to test twice a week. In the meantime please protect yourself and the community, get vaccinated! All students are now eligible to receive their Covid Vaccination, please use the link below to get yours booked in! Remember, some professions such as nursing and care work are moving towards compulsory vaccinations to work in their industry, so getting vaccinated will help stop the virus and keep those job options open to you NHS Covid Vaccination Booking You can also attend the following walk in centres local to your College site:
Hammersmith Campus Ealing Campus Southall Campus Park Royal Campus
West London College
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is of utmost importance to us and we are focused on ensuring we do the best to protect all our learners as best we can. If you ever have any concerns about yourself, or any other student you can always pop into Student Services. We can offer support with a wide range of problems and if we can’t we will find someone who can. Email safeguarding@wlc.ac.uk or fill in the student services referral form.
West London College
What’s on at WLC
Session
Date
Time
Site
Contact to book
Exam Stress
Monday 21st March
TBC
Hammersmith
a.littlejohn@wlc.ac .uk
Friday 25th March
TBC
Hammersmith
j.osullivan@wlc.ac. uk
Tuesday 29th March
All Day
Off Site
Catering Groups Only
Prevent Workshop
Tuesday 29th March
1pm
Park Royal
a.littlejohn@wlc.ac .uk
Prevent Workshop
Tuesday 29th March
1pm
Ealing
a.littlejohn@wlc.ac .uk
Tree Planting at Ealing Green
Wednesday 30th March
10am
Ealing
a.littlejohn@wlc.ac .uk
Wednesday 30th March
1pm
Hammersmith
a.littlejohn@wlc.ac .uk
Fulham Football Club Careers Talk
Red Carnation Hotel Trip
Sexual Harassment
West London College
National Careers Week – WLC Careers Fair In celebration of National Careers Week (Monday 7th-Friday 11th March) we hosted Careers Fairs across all of our sites. These events were a fantastic opportunity for our learners to meet with some of the UKs leading employers to discuss career and progression opportunities, part time job vacancies and apprenticeship opportunities Monday 7th March- Southall We had a fantastic first day celebrating National Careers Week with over 100 students attending our Careers Fair to meet with Eleanor Care, Coventry University, Amazing Apprenticeships, University of Hertfordshire, WLC Apprenticeships, Camp America, NCS, Metropolitan Police If you attended our Southall Careers Fair please complete this short Southall Student Feedback Form Tuesday 8th March- Ealing Day two celebrating National Careers Week at our Ealing campus with over 200 students attending our Careers Fair to meet with Coventry University, Amazing Apprenticeships, University of Hertfordshire, WLC Apprenticeships, Camp America, Metropolitan Police, SAE Institute, London Southbank University, NCS, Buckinghamshire New University, Grims Dyke Hotel If you attended our Ealing Careers Fair please complete this short Ealing Student Feedback Form
West London College
National Careers Week – WLC Careers Fair
Wednesday 9th March- Park Royal Day three celebrating National Careers Week at our Park Royal Campus. Our amazing Construction learners met with St James Construction, The Forge, WLC Apprenticeships, Camp America, NCS at our Careers Fair If you attended our Park Royal Careers Fair please complete this short Park Royal Student Feedback Form Thursday 10th March- Hammersmith For our final day of celebrating National Careers Week we held our Careers Fair at our Hammersmith Campus. Over 200 students came along to meet with the following employers to discuss career and progression opportunities. NHS Imperial College Trust, Eleanor Care, Hyatt Regency Hotels, Workzone, Coventry University, Circl, NCS, Amazing Apprenticeships, University of Hertfordshire, Montcalm Hotels and Spa, The Forge, WLC Apprenticeships, Camp America, Buckinghamshire New University, Bovingdons, Intercontinental Hotel, Red Carnation Hotels, Health Watch, Hilton Hotels, Hungry Caterpillars, Aster 360, Walfinch and Swansea University If you attended our Hammersmith Careers Fair please complete this short Hammersmith Student Feedback Form
West London College
National Careers Week – WLC Careers Fair
West London College
Vacancies Visit our Careers and Employability Site for support with CVs, job vacancies, apprenticeship opportunities and the latest careers information and university application guidance. If you would like to book a Careers Advice appointment with our College Careers Advisor please contact Jemima j.wiredu@wlc.ac.uk Please click the images below for the latest job vacancies, apprenticeship opportunities.
Are you ready to take your career to new heights? From Pilots to Cabin Crew, Project Management and Business to Engineers and Digital. British Airways, one of the U.K’s most iconic brands, has a career waiting for you! On Wednesday 30th March from 5:00pm - 6:00pm we are going to be hosting our first exclusive event with British Airways to showcase the many career opportunities on offer at one of the world's most distinguished airlines. British Airways is the UK's largest international scheduled airline, flying to nearly 600 destinations around the world to millions of passengers. Discover where a career with British Airways could take you. Click the link below to register yourself for our upcoming online event. Registration Link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/British-Airways
West London College
Work Experience
Students from Art and Media, Automotive, Business, Construction, ICT and Public Services will be taking part in our Heathrow Virtual Work Experience Programme from Monday 21st-Friday 25th March. During the week students will attend live employer webinars with companies such as Heathrow, JC Decaux, Fujitsu and Mace.
Work Experience Start Date
Group
Monday 21st March
Heathrow VWEX Groups, CATL211007, ESOE311061
Monday 28th March
BUSL311061, CATL111006, CATL111005, BRIL311007, SPOL312007
Monday 25th April
ELEL311002, ICTL311118 A, ICTL311118 B, SPOL211002, TRAL111008
Monday 2nd May
ESOE311169, PLUL311005, ICTL211032, SPOL111041
Monday 9th May
BUSL211081, ICTL211030
Monday 16th May
ICTL322049, TRAL111022, All students who have not yet completed WEX
All Sport Coaching students need to bring their DBS evidence into Jodie in the Careers and Employability Hub (Hammersmith Foyer) by Tuesday 22nd March. j.osullivan@wlc.ac.uk
West London College
Enrichment St Patrick's Day started in 1631 to honour St. Patrick, who is the Patron Saint of Ireland. He was a 5th-century missionary who is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. His day is observed annually on the 17th March and has evolved into a celebration of Irish culture with parades taking place around the world, special foods, music, dancing and a whole lot of green!
Here at WLC we actively champion sustainability and are working hard to become as eco friendly as possible! We will be celebrating Global Recycling Day, Friday 18th March, by encouraging all students to recycle and use our green recycling bins across our campuses. On Wednesday 30th March in partnership with Ealing Park Ranger our students will be helping to plant trees in Lammas Park and re-green the local area. If this is something you would be interested in taking part in or have any other idea of how the college can become more environmentally friendly then please contact a.littlejohn@wlc.ac.uk
West London College
Enrichment
National Workouts and Wellbeing week, Wednesday 23rd-Tuesday 29th March, the aim of the week is to raise awareness around mental health and the positive impact exercise has on our overall health. Regular exercise has been proven to boost our mental well being as well as our physical health. It can help to build confidence and self esteem as well as reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and low mood.
In celebration of National Workout and Wellbeing week we will be introducing Zumba Classes and Football Sessions at our Southall Campus please contact a.littlejohn@wlc.ac.uk for more information
Interested in joining our WLC Sports Academies? Here at WLC you can sign up to our Basketball, Boxing and Sports Academies for more information please contact Alfie a.heaps@wlc.ac.uk
West London College
National Apprenticeship Week National Apprenticeship Week 2022 was the 15th annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships running from 7th to 13th February. As the economy recovers from the pandemic, National Apprenticeship Week was focused on the theme “build the future.” The early signs look promising with the new apprenticeship starts growing by over 40% across England. But this could be the direct impact of the incentive payment scheme introduced by the government to encourage employers to take on apprentices over the pandemic which came to an end on 31st January.
Table 1: Number of starts in the first quarter per academic year across England The proportion of starts by Black, Asian and Minority ethnic people (BAME) has also risen again. This group accounted for 10.5% in 2018/19 but now accounts for 13.5% across England (Table 2). However, the college has 44% BAME within their apprenticeship cohort which represents the diversity within West London and surrounding area.
Table 2: Number of BAME per academic year Source: NCFE
Table 3: BAME representation in WLC
West London College
National Apprenticeship Week The college has also seen positive signs of apprenticeships securing long term employment. 68% of our apprentices are with the same employer they started their apprenticeship with and 64% have been able to secure a pay rise.
The college has seen large employers starting to recruit more apprentices which is an encouraging sign. We hope SME organisations will follow suit and start investing back into developing the next generation of workforce using apprenticeships.
How did West London College celebrate National Apprenticeship Week? The college has been working hard to raise awareness of apprenticeships especially with 16-19 year olds in West London. As part of National Apprenticeship week, the college celebrated by hosting several events to mark the occasion and raise awareness of Apprenticeships. For more information please click here. One of these events included a live virtual apprenticeship fair, which was a panel event with employers on the benefits of taking on an apprentice. The event was targeted to schools, parents, employers and apprenticeship seekers. To watch the recording, please access the link here.
Pastoral & Wellbeing
International Happiness Day International Day of Happiness will be on March 20. This day brings awareness to happiness as a fundamental human goal and highlights the importance of happiness and well-being as an aspiration for people all around the world. • Go for a walk and appreciate nature • Do something kind for someone • Focus on gratitude • Create a joy list With our world facing unprecedented challenges, wellbeing matters more than ever.
West London College
Bursary
It’s not too late to apply!! Please checkout the finance page on the student portal for further information on the bursary available, eligibility criteria and guidance on how to apply. Click here The next deadline date to get applications approved in order to receive Spring Term Bursary Award is Friday 1st April 2022. For further information regarding support available, please speak to a member of the Student Services team at your campus. Letter Request For those of you who require a letter to confirm you are studying at the college these can be requested via the Student Services centre. You may need a letter for all types of things including; opening a bank account, Council Tax Exemption or just general proof of study. Please visit the Student Services Centre or alternatively click on this link to complete the online request form for 2021/22. It can take up to five working days so please be patient while we get this prepared for you. Once completed the letter will be ready for you to collect from the Student Services Centre. Unfortunately, we don’t put these in the post but can be emailed to you upon request. For this and all other enquiries relating to Student Services you can email us on studentservices@wlc.ac.uk.
West London College
Bursary
Transport for London Student Services still encourages learners who live within a London borough and are aged 16,17 or 18 on the 31st August 2021 to apply for the 16+ Zip card from Transport for London which offers free bus travel and 50% off on trains. Click here If you are 16-18 and live outside a London borough you can still apply for the 16+ zip and can still qualify for 50% off trains and buses. Learners who are aged 19 years over, on a full time course can apply for the Student 18+ Oyster Card which will give them a 30% discount of the cost of a weekly or monthly travelcard. Click here There is a £20 admin fee payable to TFL to purchase both of these cards. Alternatively checkout national railcards available which could also offer you discounts depending on age and location you are travelling in. Click here Always check the terms and conditions before you apply as there are some stipulations that you may need to consider first.
Student Newsletter March 2022