All data below aligns to the College 2024-25 Academic Year:
Yeovil College (YC) is supporting just over 350 Engineering Apprentices on programme (across all years) in the 2024-25 academic year. The College is proud to work with significant primes and the impactful SME supply chain across South Somerset, North and West Dorset including Thales, Leonardo, Honeywell, BAE, FGP and many others.
The College recently worked closely with key strategic businesses to implement the Level 6 Aerospace / Manufacturing and Electrotechnical Engineering Degree programme to its curriculum. This was originally set up with YC, Leonardo and the University of Plymouth with units originally designed to meet Aerospace requirements (e.g. Computer Aided Engineering, Composites, Future Propulsion). More recently, in response to changes to the apprenticeship programme from IfATE, considerable work has gone into consultation and re-development of the Degree Apprenticeship with the Open University, the first cohort of which were enrolled in September 2024. Specifically for Level 6 learners, Yeovil College support 37 Level 6 Degree Apprentices on programme (carry over and plus new starts in 24/25). Additionally 21 other Apprentices are now on L6 (Aerospace and Mechanical) from key local organisations including Honeywell, BAE Systems, Heli Operations and Eaton (£567k total programme funding) which would have not been possible if the course was not developed by Yeovil College, in conjunction with its regional enginerirng and manufacturing partners.
Yeovil College continues to be supported by Leonardo in terms of resources LEONARDO HELICOPTERS AND YEOVIL COLLEGE WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP ON TRAINING & EDUCATION - West of England Aerospace & Advanced Engineering Forum (weaf.co.uk). Part of the commitment to working together from 2016 onwards, and within a renewed spirit of collaboration, Leonardo Helicopters loaned a Super Lynx 300 helicopter to Yeovil College (which is still in place). The aircraft was specifically refurbished by a team of graduates and apprentices and configured as a hands-on training aid for apprentices and students to practice critical skills and help contextualise engineering and aerospace principles. This support all Leonardo Apprentices and in total all Apprentices will gain hands on experience with a specialised training aid which is a key part of the local economy.
The West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT) is industry, education and research collaborating to design and deliver flexible, higher-level technical learning to equip people with the skills to fully participate in, and contribute to, economic growth driven by digital innovation and emerging technologies. Leonardo Helicopters and Yeovil College worked closely are part of the consortium bid in 2019 with Weston College as the lead. The successful bid led to the launch of The West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT) in October 2020, with Leonardo as an Employer Partner Employer Partners - West of England Institute of Technology (WEIoT). The collaborative approach has allowed YC to deliver new innovative programmes such as Digital Bootcamps in Digital, Digital Marketing and 3D Modelling and Printing (CAD) to over 50 learners in 2021-22, and many more since.
Mark Bolton, Principal and CEO of Yeovil College, said of the WEIoT “This is extremely special for Yeovil College and separates us within our county. Our IoT funding is part of a cohesive vision to reshape our higher education and technical curriculum. It will assist to significantly reshape, redesign and develop our campus to create a hub of technological innovation, which is even more reflective of the industries in which our students choose to develop their careers. In additional to IoT, we have plans for a further £7.5 million of capital investment, forming a substantial investment and part of our campus redevelopment plan which will provide a facility to deliver the very best for South Somerset and North and West Dorset – only the best is good enough for our community.”
Yeovil College is proud to be a local delivery partner at iAero, a strategic partnership between Somerset Council, the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership and Leonardo Helicopters, with additional funding from the European Regional Development Fund. It offers the opportunity for start-ups, SMEs, global original equipment manufacturers and other aerospace related industries to collaborate within an innovation space designed to be free from the restraints of normal industrial business-as-usual practices. In November 2022, an iAero project, led by Somerset County Council, brought together Leonardo UK, Markforged Inc, Yeovil College and Mark3D UK Limited to open and fully support a state-of-the-art additive manufacturing centre offering a unique environment in which talent, creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation within SMEs can develop their additive manufacturing capabilities. In 2024 secure a longer term agreement to have permanent space within iAero – providing access to cutting edge Additive Manufacturing, VR/XR, Digital Tooling and Cobotic facilities.
Building on the success of the bidding for the Strategic Development Fund in previous years, where significant capital investment was made in cobotics and additive manufacturing in line with the skills demands of local advanced manufacturing and engineering prime and the local supply chain, the College has since also been successful in funding from the Local Skills Improvement Fund and Skills Injection Fund for Higher Technical Qualifications. Driven by high level conversations from the manufacturing and engineering organisation the previous focus around electric and hybrid propulsion has evolved and expanded to include the College delivering sustainable UAV technology, hydrogen training and augmented and virtual reality applications for the future.
The College was successful with an Office for Students (OFS) OfS announces the allocation of £135 million of capital funding - Office for Students a bid for £1.2m to fund a bespoke hydrogen test centre, again focused on the skills requirements of engineering and manufacturing providers, its supply chain and sustainable aviation. Additional bidding for revenue funding to support the development of the L6 Degree Apprenticeship programme, after the changes announced by IfATE, ensured £100k to provide remission for our most specialist lecturers to produce not one, but three L6 Degrees to be validated and delivered through the Open University from September 2024.