Coleg Gwent

Global Village

Coleg Gwent is the largest further education college in Wales and is made up of six campuses, providing post-16 learning opportunities across Gwent. It has campuses in Abergavenny, Usk, Newport, Pontypool, Crosskeys and Ebbw Vale. The college's Ebbw Vale  campus is situated in Blaenau Gwent, rated the third poorest Local Authority area in Wales, as measured by the index of multiple deprivation. The area has the lowest numeracy and literacy levels in Wales, which contributes to the Borough having a low-skilled, low-paid workforce. The recent closure of the coal mines and Corus steelworks took from the community a source of well paid, secure employment and has resulted in European funding sources, including Objective 1, being made available to support a declining economy. Car ownership rates are low; there is limited public transport and no rail link. Learners therefore have limited access to opportunities to widen their life experiences. It is in the context of low expectations from many of our young people that the project team hope to provide opportunities to learn and participate in the global community through cooperative activities both in Wales and abroad. This is the first time the campus has participated in an event of this nature. The youth conference provided an ideal opportunity for our learners to meet other young people and provided a framework for the development of Key Skills.

Key Skills were established as part of full-time courses from the introduction of Curriculum 2000. Since then, the numbers of students attaining Key Skills each year has increased as we becme more adept at identifying and meeting needs in terms of the Key Skill units and levels offered to each learner. College policy requires all full time students to follow a programme which includes a minimium of two Key Skills as appropriate to their needs.

The Campus has been involved in the pilot of the Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification since its introduction in 2003, beginning with the Intermediate Diploma and this year introducing the Advanced Diploma. The students involved in the Youth Conference are studying a two-year BTEC National Diploma IT Practitioner course.

The group is made up of eleven students, two girls and nine boys and ages range from seventeen to twenty-one. The entry requirements for this course are four GCSEs at Grade C or a level 2 in City and Guilds IT Users qualification.

In addition to the main course, they are participating in the Welsh Baccalaureate (Advanced), also over a two-year programme. This year they are required to:

There are four lecturers delivering the main course, one of whom also delivers a module on the WBQ. There are two lecturers delivering the WBQ.

The group have formed a Team Enterprise, with the aim of donating profits to Sanyang Lower Basic School in The Gambia. Evidence will be gathered from fundraising activities, correspondence with students from The Gambia and involvement in a learning circle (to include students from other countries to share experiences).

As a result of these activities, students also need to produce an Individual Investigation which requires them to research and gather information on an issue comparing Wales, Europe and The Gambia.

The fund raising activities have gone particularly well. The students have developed their team skills, taking minutes, discussing and agreeing on important issues and deadlines. Situations have arisen where group members have needed to resolve conflict, but this has been done in a professional manner and have made sensible changes where necessary to achieve objectives.

Another very successful exercise was the learning circle where students had the opportunity of expressing their ideas on a variety of social, cultural and political issues with other students around the world. It as a very worthwhile experience for all concerned.

The students have found it difficult to imagine what it will be like to deliver their presentation at the conference. It would be beneficial for them to attend a similar conference to gain experience in this area.

Many of our learners lack confidence and have little or no experience of this type of activity. The project team recommend that there are more opportuities of this type to enable our learners to develop the personal skills they will need for employment and in life.