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LONDON – BEIJING WORLD CITY LINKS VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PROJECT Julian Vennis (Director – World City Links) London-Beijing World City Links PROJECT BACKGROUND The Project twins vocational high schools in Beijing with London FE Colleges It developed at the request of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission Building on a successful schools links project A formal agreement was signed in February 2006 between BMEC and AoC London Region Initial Financial support from PMI PROJECT BACKGROUND Main objectives are collaborative activities for mutual benefit: – joint curriculum development – management/staff development – student exchanges To improve the quality of the vocational education and relevance to economic, social and Olympic needs of the two cities Increasing focus on the ‘LEST’ objectives- learning lessons on skills & employment benefits for 2012 COLLEGE LINKS City and Islington College - Beijing Business School - Optics College of North West London - Electrical Engineering College - Air Conditioning & English Ealing, H’smith & West London - Chang Ping Vocational School - Airline Services & Catering Greenwich Community College - Foreign Affairs School - Tourism Newham College - Shang Mao School - Financial Services Southwark College - Capital Railway Health School - Medical English London College of Beauty Therapy - Jin Song School - Hair & Beauty COLLEGE LINKS Hackney Community College - Financial Services City of Westminster College & St Francis Xavier SF College - Art & Design Capel Manor College - Economic Management School - Manuft’ing & Technology School - Chang Ping Vocational School - Horticulture Havering College - Shun Yi Technical School - Motor Vehicle Harrow College - Shang Mao School - Food Technology Uxbridge College (IT) - Construction & Materials School & College of NE London (Construction) Barnet College - Jin Song School - Photography South Thames College - Music Technology - National Culture & Arts School LDA OBJECTIVES & TARGETS Objectives include: – The Development of the capacity of London Colleges to link internationally – Development of curriculum projects to learn lessons from Beijing 2008 relevant to vocational education in London – Delivery of general skills training to London students on how to make the most of the games Output targets for the 3 years from 2007 to 2010 are: – 450 students and 50 staff gaining at least six hours worth of skills development activity – 60% of these should be BAME, 50% women, and 10% disabled people Contribution to Olympic Skills Help prepare the City for hosting London 2012 30 Students help deliver in Beijing in 2008 Staff and Students gain real understanding in how their partner college contributed to Olympics Improved cultural understanding especially in hospitality and health sectors Greater motivation to become volunteers LDA TARGETS ACHIEVED Targets delivered: 2007/08: Total 210 (inc 37 staff) BME Total 166 (inc 18 staff), 79% of the total Women Total 132 (inc 27 staff), 63% of the total Disabled Total 22 (21 students, 1 staff), 10% of the total 2008/09: Total 221 (inc 35 staff) BME Total 157 (inc 10 staff) 71% of the total Women 136 (inc 20 staff) 62% of the total Disabled 11 (inc 1 staff) 5% of the total OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS Many Reciprocal visits of managers to each other’s colleges 18 colleges twinned from each City Formal partnership agreements now signed by Principals in each college Beijing office established with 8 subscribers Joint curriculum projects well established More specific projects now being established JOINT CURRICULUM PROJECTS For staff and students to learn about each other To build trust and understanding Examples include: – Sports vision – Fashion project Workshops will share examples of other projects specifically connected to the Games OTHER EMERGING PROJECTS Optics course being delivered in Beijing Supporting development of Western Cuisine Delivery of UK qualifications Staff development programmes in UK e.g. with CEL LESSONS LEARNED Good liaison / local links are essential Support of Government in Beijing was critical Principal level support in UK needed in first instance Financial support of the British Council/PMI was really helpful in starting the project LDA support has been crucial to continuation Developing links with China takes time, patience and many visits Communication is a constant challenge Not every project will work There has been real learning on how to support London 2012 LESSONS LEARNED Student participant in a visit: – “One of the most important experiences of my life” Staff participant: – “The best staff development I’ve ever done” Student participant in college training: – “I’m going to volunteer for 2012 – it will help me get on in my life and my career” London-Beijing World City Links THANK YOU XIE XIE