BURY College is set to receive a portion of a £5.4 million fund aimed at boosting access to high quality education and training.

Colleges across the country will soon benefit from a cash injection to boost standards so more people can get the skills they need to progress in their careers.

Twenty applications have been successful and will receive a total of £5.4 million from the College Collaboration Fund (CCF) between them.

The fund, which builds on the strengths of the Strategic College Improvement Fund, will see groups of colleges collaborating to share good practice, knowledge and experience to drive up the standard of education and training on offer to their local communities.

This will include specific support to develop high quality digital content to provide improved remote and blended learning, to make sure students affected by coronavirus can catch-up on lost learning hours and also to prevent young people from becoming NEET (not in education employment or training).

Gillian Keegan, Apprenticeships and Skills Minister said: "I’m delighted to announce the 20 applications that have been successful in securing funding from the College Collaboration Fund.

"Now more than ever, it’s vital that colleges can support their students to gain the skills they need to progress and employers and our economy need to grow.

"This fund will help colleges work together, to develop cutting edge digital approaches to online learning, to overcome new challenges and continue to deliver high quality education and training for the communities they serve.

"The past few months have been a challenging time for the sector, but they have gone above and beyond to support their students.

"This additional funding will help to support further collaborative work as we move forward. I look forward to hearing more about their progress and wish them all the best."

The announcement follows the Education Secretary’s FE speech where he pledged to publish a White Paper this autumn that will set out plans to build a high quality further education system that will provide the skills that individuals, employers and the economy need to grow.