Collab Group

rdf:langString Collab Group

rdf:langString Collab Group is a membership organisation representing a network of 29 colleges and college groups of further education in the United Kingdom. The organisation uses their UK-wide collective capability to work with civic and business communities to influence and lead the future of technical and professional education development and delivery. Collab Group colleges are large and diverse, technically and professionally focused, and have ambitious apprenticeship schemes. They are entrepreneurial and employer-facing. Crucially, they prepare their students for successful careers and help get them into work. Collectively, Collab Group colleges represent over 600,000 learners, more than 30,000 workers, and support over 50,000 apprentices each year. Collab Group offers services to both public and private sector clients. They work with their members to deliver nationwide apprenticeship and training services to large employers, as well as expert consultation services relating to skills and education. The expertise of their network produces meaningful solutions to a range of skills-related issues. They offer commercial training services for organisations looking to bring new talent into their business, or who wish to upskill or retrain their existing workforce. They support employers in critical industries to make the most of their apprenticeship levy as they work in partnership to strategically plan their current and future talent needs. Collab Group works to raise the profile and prestige of further education colleges and demonstrate the critical role they play in creating a more skilled and prosperous society. They engage with their members, government and industry to influence the implementation of skills policy at both a national and regional level. Collab Group publishes thought leadership on the most significant issues impacting the sector including the development of professional and technical skills, policy implementation, and sector funding. They regularly engage with stakeholders in both government and industry to shape solutions that will jointly benefit the sector and the economy. The group changed its name from the 157 Group in October 2016, having been established under its former name in 2006. Its creation was announced at that year's Association of Colleges annual conference chaired by the then Secretary of State for Education Alan Johnson, with its former name taken from the 157th paragraph of a British government paper on education, The Foster Report (formally the Review of the future role of FE colleges), published a year previously. Chief Executive Ian Pretty explained the group's new name: "Collab is collaboration ... collaboration is critical to us. How do we collaborate with industry? How do we collaborate with government? How do we collaborate with each other?"