With a rich history spanning almost 150 years, West London College boasts three vibrant centres in Ealing, Hammersmith, and Southall. Dedicated to nurturing the aspirations of over 10,000 students annually, they have been instrumental in guiding individuals towards their desired career pathways. West London College has a strong history of apprenticeship training in a wide variety of sectors, working with employers of all sizes across London and beyond.
As part of the National Apprenticeship Week celebrations, teachers invited students to participate in the workshop sessions, offering valuable insights into the world of apprenticeships and the steps involved in securing one.
These interactive sessions took place in West London College's newly unveiled, cutting-edge Immersive Classrooms. During the workshops all colleges were connected using our ClassView Platform and a multimedia presentation was simultaneously transmitted from Hammersmith and Fulham College’s immersive classroom to students attending in person at Ealing Green College and Southall Community College. Each space is complete with virtual reality headsets, a huge pin-sharp playback screen, 85” interactive whiteboards, 85” monitors and responsive mood lighting.
Matt Fawcett, Deputy Principal Planning, Partnerships & Projects said:
"The £400,000 project is just the beginning of the college’s commitment to revolutionising the entire learning environment. Through this technology, our students will be able to link, in real-time, to specialist environments worldwide, as well as our other colleges – allowing them to collaborate directly with experts in their field."
The students enthusiastically embraced the interactive classroom setting and immersed themselves in the virtual experience with the state-of-the-art Meta Quest 2 VR headsets available in all three rooms.
During his co-presentation at the event, Steve Bishop, the Director of Marketing and Student Recruitment, shed light on the essence of apprenticeships as job opportunities intertwined with valuable training. He emphasised that the emergence of apprenticeships presents a viable alternative to traditional university education. Drawing from his personal experience of attaining Level 4 and Level 5 apprenticeships, Steve highlighted the significant benefits and opportunities that apprenticeships offer to aspiring individuals:
“An apprenticeship means that you are a paid employee, while you study for your qualifications – and your employer’s levy fund covers the cost of your training, so you do not incur the huge debts many university students do. As employers have worked together to design apprenticeships, you get the experience and knowledge that they want you to have, which can give you a competitive advantage.”
Terry Stevens Executive Director of Resources at West Thames College joined from Ealing Green College said:
"We linked up with Southall Community College and with Hammersmith & Fulham College to watch shared content in real time on the huge video walls with a presentation, a pleasurable and totally immersed experience!"
The Immersive Ultra Classroom spaces installed across all of West London College's three campuses will allow them to connect and adopt innovative XR and VR technology enabling experiential learning models. As well as connect with each other to support curriculum equity and enhancement across the wider ClassView community.
Resources
https://www.wlc.ac.uk/2024/02/immersive-classrooms-launched-to-kick-off-national-apprenticeship-week