Academy launched to give students hands-on business skills

Barnsley College has launched The Chamber and Brook Academy.

Bringing together Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and Brook Corporate Developments Ltd, the academy aims to provide students with hands-on business skills while developing new opportunities for businesses.

The academy is within the Business classrooms at the College’s Old Mill Lane campus.

It has been designed to provide students with a dedicated space where they can learn about business, finance and funding and explore different areas of business.

In addition, it will provide students with a range of opportunities to develop their skills, including the chance to work on real projects from local businesses and widen their knowledge of real-world business situations.

Brook Corporate Developments Ltd is a business improvement consultancy, based at The Business Village, Barnsley.

It offers support for businesses to help staff growth and business development.

Dom Brook, director at Brook Corporate Developments, said: “We have been a member of The Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce for several years, and we have collaborated on various projects.

“When the opportunity arose to work with Barnsley College to set up an academy we jumped at the chance.

“Combining the business skills we have, and the large network Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber has, we can transfer this knowledge to students and create new opportunities within the future workforce.”

Andrew Denniff, chief executive at Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce, added: “We have been working with Barnsley College to bring businesses and college students together.

“We have over 1,100 businesses in our network and our aim is to build bridges between students and the business community.

“The aim of developing academies within the college is to create an environment where both businesses and students can benefit from each other’s strengths, with businesses gaining access to talented students and students gaining experience in real-world environments that will help them succeed in their future careers.”

Barnsley College’s director of business development, Helen Weatherston, said: “We are very excited about this partnership and what it means for both our students and the local community.

“We have worked with Brook Corporate Developments and Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber for many years now, so we are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with them by launching this academy.”