Students boost employability skills

Students from the Computing, Accounting and Business Department at Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) are to get help boosting their employability skills.

Employers’ Week, which is being held from Monday 10 – Friday 14 October, will see students from the College’s new ‘Network to Work’ course taking part in various activities including CV workshops and mock interviews.

A range of local business experts will be on hand to offer advice, including Tony Altham (local businessman and networking expert), Louise Griffin of Achieve Your Potential, Mike Grocott of Intercog, Kerry Bonfiglio of Appointments Personnel, Steve Cunningham of Blind Vision and representatives from Newcastle Borough Council.

Students will also take part in an ‘Employer Carousel’, where they will get the opportunity to speed network with local employers.

The Network to Work course was set up by Computing, Accounting and Business staff at NULC to prepare students for life in the workplace. The course runs for six weeks and at the end students have the opportunity to progress on to a full-time course or apprenticeship, or seek employment.

Deb Harrison, Curriculum Leader for Computing, Accounting and Business said: “At NULC, we are proud of our close links with local employers, which enable us to ensure our students leave college fully prepared for life in the workplace. The aim of our Employers’ Week is to help our students learn how to conduct themselves in a job interview, how to write a winning CV, how to network and much more.”

A new Network to Work course will begin after October half-term. Anyone interested in joining the course can contact the Information Point on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk for more information.

Part-time accounting & finance courses for adults available now!

Adults in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire and Cheshire who want to study part-time can now choose from a range of part-time courses which have launched at Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC).

Local adults are advised to log onto the College’s website www.nulc.ac.uk/adults to view the part-time courses on offer and, in many cases, enrol online.

Part-time courses are available in areas such as accounting and finance, where you can study for industry recognised AAT and ACCA qualifications.  Other accounting and finance courses such as Book-Keeping and SAGE accounts are also available.

Janet Scrivens, Head of Lifelong Learning at the College, said: “We can provide help and guidance for anyone who wants to improve their job prospects, renew or refresh their qualifications or retrain for a new career. There’s never been a better time to enrol!”

To find out more about the part-time accounting and finance courses available at NULC visit www.nulc.ac.uk/adults or come along to the Part-time Course Advice and Enrolment Evening on Thursday 8 September, 5.30pm – 8pm.

Alternatively, for more information, call the College Information Centre on 01782 254254 or email info@nulc.ac.uk

Enterprising students rewarded for business success

Students from Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) have been rewarded for a range of enterprise initiatives including successfully developing proposals for new businesses as part of their studies.

Students from the Level 3 Business and AAT courses were rewarded for their achievements at a special awards ceremony, held on Thursday 16 June at the College’s new £60 million Knutton Lane campus.

The students presented their business idea, costing, business plan and marketing strategy to a panel of local entrepreneurs.

Representatives from local business Altecnic Ltd, who also sponsored the event, shared their business success stories with students and their guests.  Attendees were also entertained by the  Newcastle Performing Arts Group.

Deb Harrison, Curriculum Manager for Computing, Accounting and Business said: “The students excelled, showing tremendous creativity and business acumen.  I am certain that the business entrepreneurs of tomorrow are current NULC students, they are destined for great things.”

For more details about courses on offer at the College, call 01782 254254, email info@nulc.ac.uk or visit www.nulc.ac.uk.

Life coach helps students to build their confidence

Female Computing, Accounting and Business students from Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) have been invited to a workshop to improve their self confidence.


The Business, Accounting and IT students have been invited to a Confidence Workshop at the College on Tuesday 5 April.  Louise Griffin, a local life coach will be running the workshops. She’s previously worked with NULC and is now on a crusade to help women across the area with confidence and self esteem.


Louise will spend the day with students and aims for the young ladies to leave feeling positive, confident and ready to tackle to working life and succeed in the professional world.


The day will be broken into two sections; emotional and physical. The morning session will address emotional needs such as self esteem, body image and state management such as coping with interview nerves.


The physical afternoon session will lead with demonstrations; helping them explore make up techniques and clothing styles for interviews and professional development.

To find out more about the Confidence Worskshop contact Curriculum Manager Deb Harrison

NULC do 'something funny for money'

If there's one thing that NULC staff and students like to do its ‘something funny for money’ in aid of Comic Relief.  NULC was a hub of activity on Friday 18 March with fancy dress, bake sales, waxing and the most talked about event of the day, the NULC FlashMob.

Dance Lecturer Faye Matthews rounded up her troupes which included students, staff and even a member of the senior management team.  Then headed to the new Sainsbury’s store in Newcastle-under-Lyme, where they wowed the crowds and are now rapidly becoming an online phenomenon.

Other activities taking place throughout the day included a fancy dress competition which resulted in a monkey and pirates roaming the corridors!  A yummy bake sale organised by Early Years students, Fun Run by Sports Performance and Excellence students, leg waxing in the Transform Salon.  As well as various fund raising efforts by Learner Services, Starbucks staff and the Students’ Union.

The money is still being counted but so far NULC have managed to raise over £500.00, which is a fantastic amount.  Thank you to everyone who took part and did ‘something funny for money’.

To see all the photos and videos from the day visit our Facebook gallery at www.facebook.com/NewcastleULymeCol and give us a ‘Like’.

NULC students meet inspirational business people

Business, IT and Accounting students from Newcastle-under-Lyme College (NULC) have taken part in Overcoming Obstacles Week.  The week is aimed at inspiring students and helping them overcome personal and professional barriers in business and employment.  Inspirational talks from successful business people including Steve Cunningham, world’s fastest blind man and Mo Chaudry, one of the UK’s top 100 Asian business people have been taking place since Monday 28 February and will run until Friday 4 March.

Career Academy students head to the Capital

Career Academy students headed to London on Tuesday 30 November to get a taste of life at Accenture, one of Britain’s most influential organisations, and to boost their employability skills. 

The eye-opening visit is part of the annual day-long event, ‘A Capital Experience’, organised by aspiration-raising business-education charity Career Academies UK.

Students took part in a ‘behind the scenes’ look at how Accenture works, including a workplace tour. They also took part in a question and answer session with recently employed graduates who spoke about their experiences.

The students also they received valuable advice from speakers including The Apprentice finalist Claire Young, Career Academies UK Chief Executive James McCreary, and former Career Academy student Emmanuel Akintunde. 

To read more about this story click here. To find out more about the Career Academy programme visit www.nulc.ac.uk/careeracademy