Kimpton will also support the college to refurbish its Plumbing & Gas Workshop by designing and installing its gas and water infrastructure and providing industry hardware and appliances to support students’ learning, providing around £35,000 worth of in-kind value.
The new contract further expands Kimpton’s relationship with the college, having previously been appointed to manage its air conditioning systems and joining its minor works framework. Kimpton, which is headquartered in Bromborough, uses current students within its delivery teams on those works, allowing the flow of talent and opportunity to come full-circle.
The two organisations have worked together for more than 30 years to help develop the city region’s future workforce, with dozens of apprentices and trainees benefitting from Kimpton’s expert team in classrooms and on site, providing industry experience and positioning students for successful careers.
Elaine Bowker, principal and chief executive of The City of Liverpool College, said, “It’s vitally important to us that we prepare our students for the world of work, equipping them with the skills they need to secure jobs and pursue long, successful careers. Our relationships with industry partners are critical to that approach, not only in helping students to secure work experience or apprentice opportunities, but also to guide our teaching and ensure we are producing students with the qualities that employers want.
“Many of these roles will ultimately help to decarbonise our environment, strengthen local supply chains and build long-term economic resilience for the communities who live and work here.
“Kimpton has been a close and valued partner in those efforts for decades now. Both organisations share values and support one another to reach our goals. This sense of authentic, committed values was evident throughout their bid in this latest competitive tender process.”
Matt Breakwell, director of sales and ESG at Kimpton, added, ““Apprenticeships have long sat at the heart of our approach; four current directors and shareholders began as apprentices and nine senior team members followed the same route. In recent years we have widened access by recruiting directly through vocational colleges such as The City of Liverpool College, targeting students already committed through technical study, placements or T-Levels.
“This has really helped to improve the quality of candidates, eliminate drop-out and grow our cohort as a percentage of our workforce. The results are visible and we have numerous clear success stories from our relationship with The City of Liverpool College. Young people can see a genuine pathway from apprentice to engineer, supervisor, manager, director and business owner. There is no glass ceiling here.”
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