Kirklees College gets £47,000 boost for digital music equipment

The cash comes from the government’s Local Skills Improvement Fund (LSIF) for investment in digital equipment for creative industries.

The new equipment will be placed at the college’s Huddersfield centre, to create a new Digital Hub, and will mean that pupils can learn the latest techniques in music production.

The money will also go towards expanding the work the college is currently doing with Model Citizens, a local community group who help hard to reach students get into the creative arts through music, DJ, photography and video editing workshops.

The Model Citizens programme supports young people who are often NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) status, don’t have high disposable income and are vulnerable to exploitation and involvement in crime to overcome the challenges they face.

On Thursday, March 7, Kirklees College and Model Citizens attended an event at Dean Clough Mills in Halifax, organised by Calderdale College which is leading on the Creative Industries Digital Innovation LSIF fund.

The event celebrated the new funding and investment for West Yorkshire Colleges, managed through the West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges.

Speaking about the event, Warren Dunn, curriculum area manager for Creative Industries at Kirklees College, said: “This event was a fantastic opportunity to share the work we are planning to do with the LSIF fund with other West Yorkshire colleges.

“This investment will vastly improve our music production provision for current and prospective students of Kirklees College and we are very excited to continue to partner with Model Citizens to create opportunities in the sector for the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

Kirklees College has also secured funding for digital innovation in advanced manufacturing, construction and teaching and learning through the LSIF.

The college is leading on the advanced manufacturing fund, which will see a range of new equipment, including 3D printers, installed at its specialist Engineering Centre.

The college says that its share of the total £6.9m will go a long way into improving the already specialised vocational curriculum it provides to tailor learning for students to the digital demands of Britain’s modern workplace.