Oaklands celebrates Colleges Week

National Colleges Week 2020 takes place Monday, 19 October - Friday, 23 October 2020, it is a chance to celebrate and shout about all of the brilliant things that colleges do.

Untitled design (3)

National Colleges Week 2020 takes place Monday 19 October – Friday 23 October 2020, it is a chance to celebrate and shout about all of the brilliant things that colleges do, day in and day out to build communities, boost businesses, and support individuals.

As such, we wanted to celebrate the inspiring ways in which Oaklands College students and staff have responded to the challenges thrown up by COVID-19 this year, by exploring the five themes running alongside this year’s campaign.

Colleges at the centre of the economy:

College Week launches with a focus on the economic importance colleges locally, regionally and nationally.

Oaklands join colleges up and down the country in upskilling the workforce of tomorrow, offering a variety of practical and vocational courses across a wide-variety of course areas, shaping a strong workforce to help rebuild the economy.

At Oaklands College, we are proud to work with hundreds of businesses in the Hertfordshire and surrounding areas, supporting businesses and employees to prosper.

Supporting industry to adapt and grow:

A plethora of courses enable Oaklands College to train a wealth of industry professionals, ready to embark into a full-time career or further degree-level studies.

From industry-trained hospitality & catering professionals, who learn on-site at our AA accredited Stables Restaurant, to hair and beauty professionals training at our OASIS Salon in Welwyn Garden City, Oaklands are proud to help businesses grow and provide students with new skills and experiences to take into industry.

Case Study – Euan BeaddieEuan Beaddie

Students can study from a variety of construction-based courses, from plumbing and electrical installation to brickwork and carpentry, Oaklands have overseen a large number of students progressing into direct employment with leading companies such as Willmott Dixon, Marshall and Amthal Fire & Security.

We sat down with former Level 3 Construction Management student Euan Beaddie, who is now an assistant building manager with Wilmott Dixon, overseeing the £62 million redevelopment of our St Albans Campus, read about his journey here.

Innovation and designing the future:

The world is changing at an ever-increasing pace and colleges are a huge part of that, they help business with labour market planning, they lead the way in the green economy with technology and educate and train students looking to enter full-time employment or degree-level studies.

The innovative Engineering Resource Centre at our Welwyn Garden City campus offers a variety of modern machinery for students to gain hands-on experience with, such as 3D printing devices, mechanical and advanced manufacturing engineering as well as electrical engineering.

The 3D printing facilities became a vital part of the colleges work in the community during the COVID-19 pandemic, with Senior Technician Russell Rimington dedicating his spare time to creating hundreds of face-shield components to aid the PPE shortage in the UK.

Engineering students have access to a wide variety of work experience opportunities, with strong links to industry with companies like Coca-Cola, AIRBUS, GSK, MBDA and Leonardo.

Supporting people and communities:

Oaklands College are a people-centred education provider which values its local community. As well as offering a large adult learning provision, the college also offers ESOL (English as Second Language), as well as part-time courses for individuals looking to learn a new skill or hobby.

In addition to this, Oaklands ensures it champions its core values, promoting diversity and equality across its campuses. Oaklands have worked and continue to work on education students about key campaigns such as Black Lives Matter, protecting the environment, contributing to foodbanks raising over £300 to the college-wide FE Food Bank Friday initiative.

As well as creating face shield components during the national PPE shortage, Oaklands College students also championed college values, working together to sew scrubs for front-line NHS workers, wash bags to prevent cross-contamination, taking part in lockdown fitness challenges and much more.

Supporting the COVID response:


From creating vital face mask components to sewing scrubs for front-line NHS staff and key workers, to donating to food banks and much more, Oaklands College are proud of the community spirit shown by its staff and students during the COVID-19 pandemic, take a look at our highlights video below. 

Scroll to Top