Build Your Future Workforce

Join our Employer Advisory Board (EAB) to apply direct influence over the design and delivery of our industry-specific curriculum. Engage with industry peers, collaborate with our team and shape the educational landscape to meet the evolving needs of your sector and future needs of our employers. 

The Employer Advisory Board (EAB) are set up to enable a unique level of industry engagement and input into the design and delivery of West Lancashire College curriculum and to ensure that we are providing excellent education for our students, which fully meets the future employment needs of the local community and the employer engagement strategy.

The EAB comprises of representative across self-employer business, small, medium and large local industry professionals along with senior staff from West Lancashire College and the curriculum team.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Give industry influence: Shape the future of your sector
• Network: Connect with industry leaders and innovators
• Offer employment opportunities: Drive recruitment opportunities
• Have community impact: Contribute to local development
• Set live briefs: Assign real-world challenges for students

Offering work-based learning opportunities can have significant benefits for your business as well as for the student. Discover the benefits of hosting work experience students who bring fresh perspective and valuable skills to your projects. Engage with future talent through industry placements, with many progressing into permanent roles.

We organise placements for students across our diverse range of subject areas. When organising a work experience placement, we will carefully work with you to select the most appropriate candidate for your business needs.

You will have the opportunity to:

• Gain fresh perspectives: Benefit from students' innovative ideas
• Achieve a capacity boost: Access additional support for projects
• Establish a talent pipeline: Identify and nurture future workforce
• Develop long-term engagement: Opportunity for permanent roles 

We welcome employers into college to deliver both subject specific and inspirational guest talks to our students that provide an insight into future technology and trends, career options and changing industry needs. Guest talks can be to small groups of subject specific students, or for inspirational talks, to larger groups and can last from 30 minutes to 1 hour. 

Throughout the year, we prepare our students with applying for jobs, building a CV and also develop their interview skills. We hold regular mock interviews and assessment days to allow students to develop their employability skills and identify work ready skills. This activity is carried out with the support of employers to make the exercise more authentic. If you organisation would be able to support us with mock interviews or employability skills development, we would be delighted to hear from you. 

To ensure our study programme are fit for industry and help to reduce future skills gaps, we work with employers from all sectors to review our course content, structure and sequencing so that students leave us equipped and ready for the world of work. Once employers have reviewed our courses and are happy that they are fit for purpose, they officially endorse the content. If your organisation can support with us, please get in touch.

Every student should have first-hand experiences of the workplace through work visits, to help their exploration of career opportunities and expand their networks. Experiences of the workplace can create social capital for young people with more limited networks and give students the opportunity to find out more about essential skills and the world of work.

Throughout the year, the college holds lots of events, many of which are enhanced by the attendance of our local and regional employers. We hold an annual interactive careers fair that is attended by over 1000 college students and also Year 9 pupils from our local High Schools.

Since 2021, we have also offered local school pupils the chance to attend our annual STEM Festival, a full day of engaging workshops, talks and immersive experiences. It is an event that brings STEM to life and allows young people to experience STEM in a realistic but aspirational way and is delivered in partnership with a wide range of STEM employers. 

We also hold an annual Student Awards Ceremony in July sponsored by local employers. 

If you would like to find out more about supporting college events, please contact dawn.hughes@westlancs.ac.uk 

We work closely with The Careers and Enterprise Network and local high schools to ensure careers education advice and guidance (CEIAG) is impartial, current and meets the needs of individual students. We hold regular CEIAG meetings which we welcome employers to attend and The Careers and Enterprise Network are always looking for more Enterprise Advisers to support their work. 

If you would like to find out more, please contact sarah.yarrow@inspira.org.uk 

Explore T Levels as a pathway to skilled employment or higher study, complemented by meaningful industry placements. You can learn about our T Level offer here. 

Can you offer a 45-day industry placement? 

Each T Level includes an in-depth placement that lasts at least 45 days. Students get valuable experience in the workplace; employers get early sight of the new talent in their industry. 

Benefits for employers

• Attract motivational young people to your business, bringing in imaginative and new ideas 
• Improve the recruitment pipeline for your business 
• Address local and national skills gaps by helping young people develop the skills your industry needs
• Development mentoring and management skills for your existing staff
• Build a more diverse and creative workforce
• Play an important role in the local community