Two colleges set to merge

A Walsall Council cabinet meeting on Wednesday will discuss the possibility of the the adult college becoming part of the main college in a bid to get greater access to funding.

In August 2015, the council agreed that Walsall Adult Community College could establish itself as independent from the local authority in terms of how it was run, but the council remained owner of the organisation.

Now the council will consider the proposal that WACC and Walsall College formally join in March 2018 at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, with WACC still continuing to run from its Hawbush Road site.

The decision has been put forward due to changes in the way adult and community learning is being funded nationally.

Councillor Aftab Nawaz, portfolio holder for children’s services and education said: “I believe the coming together of Walsall’s highest quality training providers would be an excellent opportunity to ensure there is a strong and sustainable future for high quality skills and adult community learning provision which will benefit the residents and business of Walsall.

“It is a priority of this council to ensure local people have the skills and knowledge to enter and progress in work and so Walsall Council would work with the new joined entity to secure new investment for both the learning infrastructure and learning provision.”

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