Our Chair and former CEO, Ruth Gilbert, was recently profiled in the TES, where she talked about her career journey and how through her work as Principal at Southwark College she met Lord Baker, and wasn’t afraid to tell him what was wrong with his passion project, University Technical Colleges.   She told him that  he’d really missed a trick with UTCs, having not really thought about the FE colleges, their technical prowess, their expertise,’”  and this is where our journey started, as he challenged her to set up an organisation that did just that: and the Career Colleges Trust was born. 

The CCT concept was about skill shortage areas, channelling  employers into supporting education built by industry, for industry, and to improve the career prospects of the communities that colleges and employers serve.

Over the last eight years the trust has grown from strength to strength remaining agile, responding to emerging skill shortage areas, such as Logistics, Digital Construction and Green Tech which are at the heart of economic recovery.   These are areas that young people, their parents and influencers won’t necessarily know about . Careers remains at the heart of what we do and the Career Colleges Trust is committed to working with partners and stakeholders to ensure that young people and adults are aware of the wealth of career opportunities there are in these emerging sectors.

You can read more about Ruth Gilbert’s career journey in the TES online Profile: Career Colleges Trust chair Ruth Gilbert | Tes