£2.2m Wiltshire Business School officially opens
Wiltshire College & University Centre has unveiled its new £2.2m Wiltshire Business School at Georgian Grade II listed Lackham House.
Officially opened by Moonpig founder and former Dragon’s Den Dragon Nick Jenkins, the business school offers a blend of traditional classrooms, collaborative spaces and new equipment.
It has been designed with hopes of bridging the digital skills gap and providing students with a real-world learning experience.
Jenkins said: “The facilities here and the students are excellent. The college is teaching all of those generic business skills that will apply to every job they ever have. And if they arrive for a job interview with those skills already, they’re going to be streets ahead of the candidates that have to be taught them. As an employer, it’s music to my ears when people turn up and they already have those basic skills.”
The college also intends to offer part-time courses to businesses at the school, covering areas such as HR, accountancy, and leadership.
Principal & CEO Iain Hatt said: “We are teaching students the behaviours and sense of responsibility they’ll need in the real world of business and embedding that into lessons. Among the digital skills being taught are setting up video conferencing meetings and training courses, running remote meetings and one-to-ones and even managing a digital reception area.
“The students might have used online learning before but they’ve been on the receiving end of it. We want to allow them to set up online meetings and webinars, design remote training sessions and then take those traits and skills to the workplace.
“We’ve had excellent feedback from the employers who’ve been in to see it and the students love it. Since 1946 when it opened its doors as the Wiltshire Farm Institute, Lackham has always been at the cutting edge of education and with Wiltshire Business School we are future-proofing our teaching for the next generation.”
