Karen Phillips

Deputy Principal & Project Director

for the Taf Ely Learning Campus

Nantgarw Campus

21st century learning

Who are we?

• Formerly Coleg Morgannwg &

Ystrad Mynach College – merged

August 2013

• Further education college in

Rhondda Cynon Taff and

Caerphilly

• 1081 staff

• 20,000 students

Background to the Project

• Strategic Aim to reduce from 5 to 3 campuses since 2006

• 2008 sold one campus to the University of Glamorgan

• 2012 moved to the Nantgarw Campus and sold one campus to

Persimmon

• 2013 merger and back to 5 campuses!

Getting project approval

• “An education facility appropriate for learners in the 21st century”

• Aligning our strategy to the Welsh Government and WEFO

– Being ambitious

– Follow the rules of funding and priorities

– Being positive about the difference it would make to the learners of RCT

• Delivered to the right people

The good…

The bad…

The ugly…

Funding

• £6.7m WEFO

• £27.8 Welsh Government (incl.

£12m SCIF)

• £5.5m Coleg Morgannwg

• Clash of rules!

Why share the building?

• Funding requirement to provide

space for 4 x SMEs

• It creates a community space

• Work experience for learners

• Permits us to concentrate on

our core business

Shared Use

Selection process

• Advertising

• Open evenings

• Tender process

• Interviews

• 29 businesses expressed an

interest

Challenges / benefits

• The academic cycle

• Managing expectations

• WEFO target met

• We are really a part of the

community

• Income generation

• Students and staff love it!

Early successes

• 300 A level learners (year 1)

• Women in Science and Maths

increasing from 30 to 130

• 20 newly created jobs

• Significant interest in the

building

• Employer investment

Evaluation of the Project