SERC Welcomes Economy Minister Dodds

South Eastern Regional College (SERC) welcomed Economy Minister Diane Dodds to the College’s Lisburn Campus to see the measures taken to ensure a safe return for students and staff for the new academic year.

SERC moved to online learning during the lockdown period and over the summer teams across the College have been making necessary preparations for the return to campus. The College, which has main campuses in Bangor, Downpatrick, Lisburn and Newtownards, is set to welcome thousands of school leavers progressing to Further and Higher Education, Training for Success and Apprenticeship programmes and people pursuing qualifications and training through part-time study over the coming weeks.

Minister Dodds was welcomed to the College by Principal and Chief Executive Ken Webb who said, “Safety is paramount to everything we are doing at SERC in preparation for the new academic year.

“We have been working hard to ensure that everything we need is in place to help everyone adhere to social distancing and that everyone who comes through our doors, whether students, staff or visitors, feels safe.

“At SERC we are fortunate to have in-house a range of experienced staff with skills and access to specialist equipment and facilities which has enabled printing our own vinyl signage to highlight social distancing, hand sanitising points, and actions necessary to keep everyone safe which will be on display throughout the College.

“In addition, we have a team producing over 3000 Perspex screens, currently being installed in classrooms, computer rooms and specialist teaching areas such as hairdressing, beauty and hospitality and catering.

“Personal protective equipment (PPE) which is required for many programmes, will be commonplace on Campus, and this includes wearing masks, mandatory in public areas, as well as one-way systems and new entrance and exit points to ensure safe movement around Campus.”

The Minister said, “It has been my priority to ensure that FE colleges and work-based-learning providers are enabled to welcome as many learners as possible to return to their college or training organisation to our new delivery models, and to have as many as possible back onsite at the earliest opportunity.”

The Minister concluded, “I want to reiterate my thanks to all of the FE colleges and work-based learning providers and their staff for their continued hard work during this challenging time.”

The Minister met students who completed their programmes online following lockdown including Jenny Drummond, who is progressing to Queen’s University Belfast to study Nursing, and Level 3 Applied Science students Paul French, Martin McKeown and Jonny McQuillan.

Paul said, “When we went into lock down, we thought our courses would finish but classes moved online seamlessly. Not only did we finish our studies, but with the support of the lecturing and support services staff at SERC, we were able to pursue competitions we had been working towards including Catalyst Invent 2020 and UNESCO Eco Award. In addition, I also secured a Nuffield Future Researcher placement and was able to complete this over the summer with the support of the College.”

Pictured Above: 

Pic 1: Economy Minister Diane Dodds pictured with SERC students Jenny Drummond, Paul French, Martin McKeown and Jonny McQuillan.

Pic 2: Economy Minister Diane Dodds pictured with SERC Principal and Chief Executive Ken Webb and Heather McKee, Director of Strategic Planning, Quality and Support at SERC.

The ETI reports are available at http://www.etini.gov.uk/publications/type/surveys

The Department’s guidance on the safe return of learners is available at: https://www.economy-ni.gov.uk/publications/framework-safe-resumption-site-educational-provision-and-related-activity

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