Wigan & Leigh College, the largest College provider of apprenticeships in Greater Manchester, has been shortlisted for Learning Provider of the Year for the upcoming Skills for Business Awards 2017.

The Skills for Business Awards recognise and celebrate the direct impact which learning has on businesses, individuals and communities in Greater Manchester and are hosted in partnership between the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Manchester Learning Provider Network.

The College has been recognised for its commitment to expanding and developing Wigan’s ambitions for economic growth; there are over 2,000 apprentices who are earning whilst they learn and the College provides support to a number of high profile authorities and public & private sector businesses such as Wigan Council, Arrow XL, Sellafield, Nice Pak, SCA, Electrium and AO.Com.

The College is going from strength to strength and in just one academic year it has celebrated 70 years of delivering Higher Education, been awarded University Centre status (with degrees awarded by UCLan), expanded its Degree Apprenticeship programme with Sellafield Ltd and was only one of two Colleges in Greater Manchester to receive a Silver award in the Teaching Excellence Framework.

Principal Anna Dawe said, “We are thrilled to hear that we have been shortlisted for Learning Provider of the Year for the prestigious award. Being a finalist is an honour and highlights the great work that staff do at the College to ensure that our apprentices are successful and that we are meeting the business needs of our employers. We look forward to attending the awards ceremony at the end of November”.

Wigan & Leigh College also nominated Wigan based employer, Amspec Ltd, a design and solution business who are delighted to have been shortlisted for Medium Business of the Year. The College works closely with Amspec Ltd to promote their current apprenticeship vacancies and matches apprentices to roles within the business.