Prosper Spring

PROSPER INTERVIEW: JAT SHARMA
“Personal skills are so important... many:
of our students need help on the basics:
– punctuality, appearance, how to:
behave. But we also teach them:
empathy - how to get on with your:
colleagues, how to work in a team”
Continued from page 19
This focus on hi-tech and digital skills
won’t mean the end of more traditional
ones, however. “One employer said to me
recently, ‘don’t worry about the skills. Make
sure your students understand how to act in
the workplace: to come in neat and tidy,
shoes shined, on time, to work hard. We’ll
teach them the skills’.
“I get his point. Those personal skills are
still needed. A lot of our students need help
on the basics – about punctuality,
appearance, how to behave. But we also
teach them the importance of empathy
– how to get on with your colleagues, how
to work in a team. Those soft skills can easily
be lost, but they are so important to a
successful career.
“Mind you, we’ll keep teaching the
hands-on skills, too!”
Returning to a look at the horizon, is there
a message – or just a request – from
Government about the future? “More
money,” Jat says, laughing.
Seriously, “every college principal can
make a case of doing more if they had the
funding, but I’m a realist. If I was to ask for
one thing, it wouldn’t be money from central
Government; it would be, ‘leave us alone.’
He explains: “The education sector has
gone through a lot of changes in a short
space of time, and perhaps we need to let
new programmes bed down for a while.”
He is full of praise for the new T-levels,
but giving them a period to settle in would
help staff and students alike. “I think
everyone needs a breather, particularly
‘‘
Get down to a college, go
through the doors and talk
to the course leaders. You’ll
be amazed by the quality of
the training on offer, and
the resources we have...
‘‘
those young people whose lives were so
affected by the pandemic. It’s been very
stressful and they need time to adjust to
what society expects of them now.”
Above all, he wants Government to
recognise what a brilliant job the college
sector is doing. “I’m so proud of my
students. Many of them walk through the
doors at the start of their course with few
educational achievements behind them –
but they leave with a Level ‘X’ qualification
that shows what they can accomplish.
“I’m so used to seeing happy, crying
families, amazed by what their children have
achieved!”
And as for Chamber members, what’s the
message? “Get involved with us. This
college is at the heart of Walsall and it is
making a difference every day. We are
closely attuned with Andy Street’s skills and
employment programmes, we just need
people who want to work with us and our
students.”
He urged Chamber members to “get
down to the college, go through the doors
and talk to the course leaders. They’ll be
more than happy to talk to you, to see if you
can help us. If you’ve not had children of
your own go through the college sector,
you’ll be amazed at the quality of the
courses we offer and the resources we have.
“Help us build the curriculum or offer a
work placement for students, so that when
they leave us, they are ready for work.”
20 PROSPER SPRING 2023