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STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

City College Plymouth is a large vocational and technical General Further Education (GFE) College offering both Further and Higher Education (FE and HE) provision.

The College has a turnover of over £40m (Group) and is a significant contributor to the educational, cultural and economic life of Plymouth.

The College is the anchor institution for skills, for the city and beyond, and the largest provider of full-time 16-18 education in Plymouth.

The College provides courses for those aged 16-18, adults and for young people aged 14 to 16 (schools provision). Courses range from pre-entry through to HE and cover 14 of the 15 Subject Sector Areas (SSAs).

The College’s strategic intent has, as its foundation, a people-led and collaborative approach, that is both inspirational and aspirational.

The College's Eight Strategic Actions

In 2021 the College set out eight strategic actions to achieve our vision to be the Learning Destination of Choice.

We will respond to a changing economy with education that connects learning and our learners to the real world, working with students, employers and other stakeholders to shape a flexible, agile skills provision, supporting employment, innovation and productivity and fundamentally delivering for our students, through our strategic action: transforming futures.

By 2031, our strategic action will ensure that:

  • 100% of teachers undertake a dedicated programme of professional development, focused on achieving and sustaining excellence in teaching, learning and assessment, as set during vigorous performance reviews
  • the College achieves a 3% increase in student numbers year-on-year
  • all programme areas have a robust route map in place
  • all programme areas have access to meaningful industry placements
  • the College achieves a 5% increase in levels of positive destinations for all students
  • the College achieves a 5% annual growth in our community learning offer
  • the College is graded ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED
  • we have produced and implemented a City College Plymouth ‘learning philosophy’ which becomes the overarching guiding principles of the College.

We will empower our staff through clarity of purpose, confidence and shared understanding. A culture of trust will enable us all to embed our values – respect, ownership, integrity – motivating our daily actions, attitudes, language and decisions through our strategic action: developing people.

By 2031, our strategic action will ensure that:

  • we are known as an employer of choice,demonstrated through staff and stakeholder surveys, enabling us to recruit and retain excellent,experienced staff-retention 90%
  • the uptake of CPD and wellbeing initiatives have increased by 75%
  • develop and strengthen our staff through open performance management, mentoring and coaching to enable each individual to have true accountability and ownership for their role within our College
  • all staff are engaged with an open, responsive check-in and restore performance process
  • all staff feel connected to our culture and values.

We will become a cloud and digital-first college, maximising the use and benefits of our technologies to re-imagine our curriculum and services through our strategic action: digital.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • ensure that the College is an award-winning FE EdTech provider, with our use of digital technology recognised as best practice in the sector
  • ensure that the College is a leading FE provider for digital futures in the wider South West region, running industry recognised microcredentials in the disciplines of AI, machine learning, cloud computing, cyber security, networking, mixed realities, programming, data analytics and UX/UI
  • address digital equity and social mobility by embedding essential digital skills into all College provision; providing exposure and access to emerging technology in all curriculum areas, and ensuring all students have access to the technology to thrive on their course regardless of programme with a one-to-one onsite student to technology ratio.

We will ensure we have the financial resilience to drive growth and innovation through our curriculum, partnerships and our estate through our strategic action: finance.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • successfully maintain overall ‘good’ financial health post capital investments
  • achieve a minimum of 4% EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest,Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation)
  • maintain a minimum of 30 days ‘cash’
  • sustain staffing costs of no greater than 66% of income
  • secure £5million of new income.

We will create collaborative, integrated solutions to strengthen the current and future health and social care workforce and improve the wider determinants of health in our city through our strategic action: health and active wellbeing.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • improve our financial position – 5% year-on-year growth of health, science and wellbeing provision
  • ensure continuous improvement of all stakeholder satisfaction levels to maintain the College’s overall Ofsted outstanding rating
  • contribute to the city’s health and social care agenda and participate in the design and engagement of health and wellbeing hubs
  • continue to build our regional and national reputation by collaborating with organisations such as NHS England, to provide innovative opportunities which directly support a skilled workforce and the broader ecosystem
  • increase stakeholder engagement to support the strategic action through a co-designed and endorsed curriculum.

We will co-create employer-responsive, flexible technical skills programmes in marine, advanced manufacturing, construction, digital and sciences to reshape the skills landscape of our community and drive growth through our strategic action: maritime, manufacturing, construction and the built environment.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • ensure that 25% of engineering and construction students study blue and green skills within their courses that meet the
    needs of local, regional and national employers
  • develop the Sherford Training Centre to include a groundworks
    and steel fixing centre
  • develop a funded Centre for Engineering & Nuclear Skills to meet the needs of Babcock, their supply chain and their
    customers
  • sign service-level agreements with 20% of large businesses (sector relevant) across the city
  • create and deliver new curricula to contribute to the overall target of £5m of new income.

We will build and use our physical spaces, infrastructure and resources to drive and respond to key developments in our curriculum, our community and our economy through our strategic action: estates and assets.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • reduce category C graded buildings at the Kings Road site by  20%
  • increase the category A buildings within the College estate by a minimum of 10%
  • contribute to a greener, fairer city through 25% reduction in our carbon emissions, achieving carbon neutral by 2030
  • seek investment to undertake radical redevelopment of the estate to align with our ambitious and city priorities.

We will support the region by collaborating and innovating with the civic and commercial sectors, continually developing our curriculum and business models to deliver the true potential of the College through our strategic action: opportunities.

By 2031, our strategic action will:

  • ensure that the College has developed an adult education focussed curriculum area, responsive to students, employers and wider stakeholders
  • ensure the adoption and completion of three key strategic priorities as the lead focus to the strategic action – opportunities for each of the 2025/26, 2026/27 and 2027/28 academic years. Each with defined project parameters to deliver growth and meet stakeholder need
  • secure £1.8m of new curriculum revenue funding to diversify College income and drive innovative delivery.

Since the publication of our Strategic Intent in 2021 the Skills Act passed into law and requires the College – through both the Local Skills Improvement Plan and Accountability Agreements – to ensure our curriculum contributes towards meeting local, regional and national skills needs and fulfils our Local Needs Duty. As our Strategic Intent had been created with extensive involvement from our employer, civic, community and educational stakeholders our eight strategic actions have subsequently been re-enforced by the activities surrounding the new statutory duties, ensuring that the College is well placed to deliver for the region as the anchor institution for skills.

Civic Leadership and City-wide Impact

As the anchor institution for skills in the city, the College works heavily with the Local Authority and the city’s skills landscape. Our Chief Executive is both the skills lead for Plymouth, and also the skills lead for Growth Alliance Plymouth, a partnership between Babcock International Group, the Royal Navy and Plymouth City Council to put in place the infrastructure, workforce and support for the wider business ecosystem, to drive inclusive growth. The College also sits on the highly influential Plymouth Growth Board, the primary forum for public/private engagement that shapes city-wide activity. This is the delivery partnership of the local growth plan of which the local skills plan is one of the key pillars. Our involvement with this group is significant with the chair of this board also being the College’s Chair of Governors. Our Chief Executive also sits on this board. Other representation includes the Chief Executives of Plymouth City Council, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, Devon Chamber of Commerce and the University of Plymouth; as well as leaders from key employers across the city such as Princess Yachts, Babcock International Group, Livewell and the Theatre Royal Plymouth. Membership of this group ensures that the College reflects the needs of the city.

NHS Hub Launch - City College Plymouth

Regional Collaboration and Influence

The College is also an active partner in the wider regional skills landscape. We are closely engaged with the newly devolved combined authority of Devon and Torbay (where we sit on the Skills Board) and with the Cornwall and the isles of Scilly devolved body. In addition, we are an active partner both through the formation and delivery of the Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) and through the delivery of the identified priorities supported by the Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF). Through this initiative, along with its predecessor the Strategic Development Fund, we have developed strong partnerships with our fellow regional colleges Bridgwater & Taunton College, Yeovil College, Strode College, Petroc, South Devon College and Exeter College.

The College is also a member of the Devon Colleges Group, where an important element of our close regional working relationship within the Devon Colleges Group has been to map our curriculum across the region to ensure that there is effective curriculum coverage to meet skills needs identified through LMI and stakeholder engagement. As a result of this collaboration Apprenticeships are mapped for the region.

Why choose City College Plymouth?

Find out how we can be your learning destination of choice.

4,024

full-time students

8,425

part-time students

12,449

total number of students

1,594

apprentices