Following on from their success as Skills Provider of the Year in 2024, West Lancashire College have just become proud winners of the BIBAs 2025 Leadership Team of the Year Award at a ceremony at the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom, where they were also Highly Commended in the Skills Provider of the Year category.
Run by the North & Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce, the Be Inspired Business Awards (BIBAs) is Lancashire’s longest running, largest and most prestigious business awards ceremony, and are a celebration of the county’s best performing companies and entrepreneurs.
The college put their success down to their fantastic team of dedicated staff, who all have one shared goal; to create the very best opportunities for students so that they have better life chances and are best placed to achieve their potential in today’s competitive world. These opportunities are created via outstanding employer links, ongoing investment into facilities and a continuous focus on the levelling up agenda.
Students at the college benefit from some fantastic industry and work experience placements, guest talks and masterclasses, and industry specific site visits with local, regional, and national organisations. Employers also work closely with the college to ensure their qualifications are fit for current industry standards. These industry collaborations support the fantastic teaching and learning and enrich the student experience by bringing future careers to life and enhancing student skills to the next level.
Gareth Sutton, Vice Principal at the college said “We are enormously proud of our college and staff, the excellent support we provide to our students and the great opportunities we offer, and we are honoured to achieve this prestigious award which is testament to everyone who works at West Lancs.”
He continued, “This year has been another fantastic year, in March our students won The Lancashire Colleges Skills Competition for Digital, and we also had great student success in both the NCG and World Skills competitions. Winning a BiBA for the second-year running is a great honour, and we look forward to continuing our work to offer the local community of West Lancashire the absolute best educational experience around.”