When I look back on the last academic year, I can't help but feel incredibly proud of what we've achieved at the Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Institute of Technology.

In just a short space of time, we've built real momentum, strengthened partnerships and most importantly, created more opportunities for learners across our region.

It's been fantastic to see our reputation continue to grow and the feedback we receive from everyone helps us to grow and develop.

Whether it's students, employers, schools or visitors, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Welcoming more than 1,000 external visitors and hosting 23 events has given us the chance to showcase not only our fantastic facilities, but also the passion and expertise of everyone who works and learns here.

One of the biggest successes for me has been seeing more people choose higher technical education.

Our educational partners have exceeded the Department for Education's learner targets for both Year 1 and Year 2, and as the lead provider, NSCG have seen significant growth in level 4 and 5 student numbers.

That's a real sign that learners are recognising the value of gaining the higher-level technical skills that employers are looking for.

Collaboration has been central to everything we've done.

A great example is our work with Siemens in Congleton, where we delivered a two-week Continuing Professional Development programme that attracted 120 enrolments.

It's partnerships like these that ensure what we're teaching reflects the needs of industry and helps people develop skills that have a real impact in the workplace.

Our educational partners supported NSCG to deliver our own two-week CPD programme, again showing collective efforts to respond to employer needs.

The Product Design Centre is another valuable asset to the IoT.

The facility was created to help businesses across the region to evolve and grow their technical expertise and nurture their product ideas.

From transforming ideas to market-ready products, the IoT's cutting-edge manufacturing technology, testing laboratory and fully-equipped electronics assembly.

We have supported many businesses to develop products for market and to make a real difference to their future business operations.

Additionally, offering short evening courses for technical updating aimed at working adults in areas such as robotics, automation, industry 4.0, pneumatics, CAD, CNC machining and 3D printing.

From an events perspective, we have had the opportunity to welcome hundreds of young people through our doors, our future student population.

Our Engineering and Manufacturing Day brought 105 local school students into through the doors to experience our cutting-edge facilities and meet people working in the industry.

Seeing that excitement and curiosity first-hand is exactly why we do what we do and looking to the future, we hope to see these young people aspiring to be their best possible selves.

We also hosted a Health and Life Sciences Day, giving students practical experiences and a chance to explore the wide range of careers available within the sector.

This is a varied sector and it's always an eye opener for young people to see how their future could look and we encouraged them to really think outside the box when they think about their future careers.

Alongside these events, we've celebrated Manufacturing Day, Creative Digital Skills Day, our Higher Education Computing and Esports Day, and the Intercollegiate WorldSkills Computing Competition.

Each one of these enrichment activities has been shared with the IoT's education partners and helped connect learners with employers, showcase emerging technologies and inspire the next generation.

The IoT hub has also provided centralised staff CPD and technical updating opportunities, which have been shared with all delivery partners to improve the quality and relevance of curriculum.

As we look ahead, there's plenty to be excited about.

We want to build on everything we've achieved this year and continue making a real difference for learners, employers and our local communities.

A big focus for us will be growing our Level 4 and 5 provision and expanding opportunities for advanced apprentices, higher education students and adult learners looking to upskill or change careers.

We'll also continue working closely with employers to ensure there's a talent pipeline of young people and adults to fill local jobs, reducing reliance on overseas workers to fill skills gaps as well as creating meaningful work experience opportunities and ensuring our curriculum continues to reflect the skills businesses need.

We are exploring partnerships with universities to provide the opportunity for our students to progress to degree level study and there's still so much more we want to achieve, but I'm excited about what's ahead.

None of this would be possible without the commitment of our staff, the support of our employer and education partners, and, of course, the enthusiasm and ambition of our learners.

Together, we're building something really special, and I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

This article is sponsored by NSCG.

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