Skip to content

Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education visit NTU’s Hub in Mansfield

Matt Western MP and Toby Perkins MP, Shadow Minister for Higher Education and Shadow Minister for Skills and Further Education respectively, today visited Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) University Hub in Mansfield.

    Matt Western MP and Toby Perkins MP at NTU university hub in Mansfield

    The Ministers were keen to learn more about NTU’s partnership with Vision West Nottinghamshire College (VWNC) – recently held as an innovative example of how to bridge the gap between further and higher education by The Times Education Commission Report.

    Meeting with a number of students, the Ministers were able to see how the courses offered at Mansfield offer alternative routes into further and higher education, providing opportunities for local people to build their skills and knowledge in sectors where local employers need them most such as nursing, construction and engineering.

    The MPs also had the opportunity to meet with NTU and VWNC leaders to talk about their wider presence in the community through collaboration with local businesses, councils, schools and political leaders. Initiatives such as improving educational attainment in schools, furthering the cultural offering and using NTU’s expertise and knowledge to provide enterprise support and legal advice were discussed as part of the visit.

    Professor Sharon Huttly, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic Development and Performance said: “We were pleased to be able to welcome Shadow Ministers Matt Western and Toby Perkins to our University Hub in Mansfield so they could experience first-hand how we and Vision West Nottinghamshire College are working together to support long-term local growth through our innovative approach to education”.

    Matt Western MP commented: “It was a pleasure to visit Vision West Nottinghamshire College this morning to witness first-hand the transformational effect of education in our local communities. The partnership established between Nottingham Trent University and the College is throwing open doors for people to retrain, upskill and enter new professions.

    Labour has always been on the side of universities and colleges. We will continue to support and encourage strong links between universities and local colleges with the aim of driving growth, improving educational attainment, and rebalancing the economy.”

    Toby Perkins MP commented: “It is wonderful to see higher education and further education institutions working in collaboration to offer a holistic experience for learners. Labour’s approach is one of cooperation for the sector so it’s great to come to the Nottingham Trent University Hub in Mansfield to see this in practice. It has been particularly useful to speak to staff and learners and listen to their experiences to gain insights into how the partnership is working for all parties.”

    • Notes for editors

      Press enquiries please contact Sarah McLeod, Corporate Communications Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 8735, or via email.

      About Nottingham Trent University

      Nottingham Trent University (NTU) received the Queens Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2021 for cultural heritage science research. It is the second time that NTU has been bestowed the honour of receiving a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for its research, the first being in 2015 for leading-edge research on the safety and security of global citizens.

      The Research Excellence Framework (2021) classed 83% of NTU’s research activity as either world-leading or internationally excellent. 86% of NTU’s research impact was assessed to be either world-leading or internationally excellent.

      NTU was awarded The Times and The Sunday Times Modern University of the Year 2023 and ranked second best university in the UK in the Uni Compare Top 100 rankings (2021/2022). It was awarded Outstanding Support for Students 2020 (Times Higher Education Awards), University of the Year 2019 (Guardian University Awards, UK Social Mobility Awards), Modern University of the Year 2018 (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide) and University of the Year 2017 (Times Higher Education Awards).

    Published on 13 October 2022
    • Category: Press office