Grŵp Llandrillo Menai Presents Annual Report for 2019-20
Grŵp Llandrillo Menai's Chair, Dr Griff Jones and Chief Executive Officer, Dafydd Evans, recently unveiled the new annual report for 2019-20 at a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM).
For the first time in the Grŵp's history, the meeting was hosted virtually, live on Zoom, due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, and was attended by members of the public, college staff, governors, and key stakeholders including local AMs and MPs and representatives from local businesses.
The annual report covers all aspects of the work of the Grŵp, as well as including a wide range of student, staff and college successes, progress that it has made in delivering a range of services, and detailed information on the financial accounts. The policy of the Grŵp in relation to public access to information is to demonstrate that it is open and accountable in the conduct of business and decision-making.
2019-20 was a unique year for the Grŵp, having to operate within the Covid-19 pandemic with significant disruption. The Chair and CEO thanked staff, who showed 'flexibility, commitment and resilience in maintaining services to learners' and keeping the Grŵp's mission of "Improving people's futures" central to the work of the organisation.
Dr Griff Jones praised the Grŵp's financial performance, with turnover increasing to £77m. This puts the Grŵp on a stable financial footing and will enable an ambitious capital investment programme to continue during the 2020/21 academic year. Already completed is a £13m Engineering Centre at Llangefni, and nearing completion is the Small Animal Care facility at Glynllifon and the relocation of Busnes@LlandrilloMenai to a prestigious building on Parc Menai, Bangor. Projects currently under planning consideration are a Sports Hall at Llangefni, relocation of the Bangor campus to Tŷ Menai, Parc Menai and a new Engineering Centre in Rhyl.
The Grŵp maintained a quality learning experience through innovative use of technology and online learning, and this is reflected in a successful completion data which improved by 2% from the previous year.
National student successes included Coleg Llandrillo A-level student Sohaib Hassan, who gained an A* in History after studying for the full A-level in only 12 months. This additional A-level completed his already impressive résumé of A-levels studied at school, and enabled him to accept an unconditional offer for Oxford University to read English Literature and Language.
Construction learner, Tom Thomas, who represented the UK at the WorldSkills competition in 2018/19, was announced as the best apprentice plumber in the UK. Tom - who is a Level 3 Plumbing and Heating learner - won the national 'HIP Apprentice of the Year 2020' competition.
The Grŵp's Busnes@LlandrilloMenai brand is now gaining traction with key partners such as Babcock International and Innogy, and their input ensures that the curriculum offer is current and relevant to industry. The acquisition of private training provider, North Wales Training, which has an excellent and long-standing reputation for delivering quality training to companies across the region, is already growing under Grŵp leadership, delivering excellent financial results - exceeding budget and delivering a profit to the Grŵp of £340,079.
Reflecting on the 2019/20 academic year, Chief Executive Officer Dafydd Evans commented: 'Last year was a unique year for the Grŵp, having to operate within the Covid-19 pandemic with significant disruption. Our staff have not only supported our learners throughout this time, but have also put in a tremendous effort into supporting their communities, such as using college equipment to produce PPE and helping local food banks.
'These actions show the value of the Grŵp, not just to our learners but to the wider community and we're very proud of their efforts. We look forward to continuing to offer the best experiences for our learners and to deliver on our mission of improving people's futures.'
The full document can be viewed here.
