Calderdale College brought together business leaders, third-sector organisations and the local community for an online event on Tuesday 28 June.

Inspiring Calderdale was the College’s first community event, reflecting on the hard work that has taken place across the district to support residents and organisations with resilience, levelling up, social mobility, and ultimately making the district a better place.

Guest speakers from Calderdale Council, Andy’s Man Club, Project Search, Vapour and Impact Gamers discussed the projects they have delivered alongside the College to transform our district; from helping people out of unemployment, to giving back to the local community and growing local businesses. Councillor of the Todmorden Ward, Silvia Dacre, also joined the event to share the borough’s priorities: reducing inequalities, resilient towns and tackling climate emergencies.

During the online premiere, Principal and Chief Executive John Rees commented on the achievements over the last year. He said: “We wanted to bring the community together, the college doesn’t work on its own in isolation. Everything we do we try to make sure we’re engaging our partners for the benefit of our students and our communities.

“This event is a great opportunity to reflect on what we have achieved in the last year, but it’s also a chance for us to showcase and celebrate a wide range of student achievements.”

Local employers Vapour and Impact Gamers reflected on how Calderdale College students have had positive impacts on both of their businesses. Tim Mercer, CEO of Vapoursaid: “We’ve been working with Digital T Level student Kian for a while now and what we’re always looking for is youth – tech is always changing, so we’re looking for young people to come through and make changes.

“Kian has been great for us as a business, when he comes in, he has lots of questions and challenges. He’s fresh, excited and really keen to learn – he helps shape the business and we’re able to help mould and grow industry placement students with the firm.”

The event also discussed the range of charitable events and projects Calderdale College engaged with over the last year, namely supporting the Inclusive Economy initiative with Calderdale Council and the mental health work completed alongside national charity Andy’s Man Club, which has contributed to a rise in attendance at group meetings.

To watch the recording of the online event and read more about the College’s inspiring stories, please visit: https://www.calderdale.ac.uk/inspiring-calderdale/