STAFF and students at Pershore College played host to an international delegation from Malaysia who were in the UK to look at opportunities to develop partnerships with leading organisations and education establishments.
The study visit was sponsored by the Department of International Trade under the UK’s Education is Great campaign. The Technical and Vocational Education and Training sector is a key part of the
Education is GREAT campaign which, in Malaysia, has more than 200 British and Malaysian partners.
It was created in response to the Malaysian prime minister’s call for the development of a comprehensive Malaysian TVET masterplan.
The VIP delegation of 20 visitors from Malaysia, including government ministers, CEOs, senior industry and education professionals and members of the UK’s Department of International Trade (DIT) visited Pershore as part of its study tour.
The visit began with an introduction to WCG and its seven specialist and further education colleges, with a more detailed overview of the specialist land-based offer at Pershore, including a drone tour of the extensive gardens, facilities and campus.
The delegation enjoyed a tour of the brand new Agri-Tech Centre of Excellence recently funded by
Worcestershire LEP and a talk from Commercial and Horticulture Manager John Farmer and Dr Alison Wakeham, a research professional leading on a number of pioneering research trials at the college.
Visitors were treated to a tour of the extensive site including laboratories, hydroponic chamber and polytunnels all containing vital experiments that aim to support local growers and industry organisations.
The objectives of the DIT visit are to strengthen links with the UK, introduce British expertise to Malaysia and develop partnerships that will allow a British consortium to be involved in the development of a Malaysian TVET masterplan.
Key industries of interest to the Malaysians are tourism, agriculture, landscaping, manufacturing, logistics and education, all sectors that WCG offer specialist courses in and strong industry links.
The delegation were particularly interested in how WCG structures its award winning employer-led apprenticeship programmes for industry.
College director and vice principal for International Development Sharon Bell said: “We currently work with partners internationally including Malaysia, so this visit was an excellent opportunity to show off our facilities first hand.
“We look forward to progressing our partnerships and discussing how we can benefit from collaborating with each other in the future.”
