A vocational motor vehicle course delivered through the medium of Welsh is gearing pupils towards a career where they can use Welsh as a working language.

The 10-week course, offered at The College Rhymney is available to year 10 pupils from Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni and Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw as part of the College’s response to the Welsh Government Learning Pathways, which encourages the provision of opportunities for young people to learn through the medium of Welsh.

The College decided to offer its popular vocational motor vehicle course in Welsh and now each term learners from the collaborating schools attend the college to learn about basic vehicle maintenance.

Daniel Jones, the course tutor at The College Rhymney, said:

“It is unusual to meet a 15 year old who knows exactly what they want to do. This course helps students see what kind of practical courses College can offer them in the future, while learning in the language they are used to being taught in.

“It is great to see pupils learning through Welsh because there is a clear advantage of being bilingual in the labour market and it shows them that using Welsh doesn’t stop at the school gate.”

Fourteen-year-old Joe Daniels from Caerphilly has just completed the course. He said:

“The course has given me a real taste for college and has opened my eyes to the options open to me after I leave school. It’s also great to be able to learn a new skill in the language I am most comfortable with”.

Under the guidance of Mr Jones, the pupils undertake basic vehicle maintenance modules including Health and Safety in a motor vehicle workshop, an introduction to checking car engine levels and an introduction to checking car lights. Upon successful completion they are awarded an OCN certificate.

Joe, who has always been interested in cars and is considering returning to The College Rhymney to take a further course in motor vehicle maintenance, said:

 “The practical element of the course was particularly enjoyable. Learning how to examine engines, assess tyre pressures, change tyres and service vehicles taught me skills that will come in handy in the future.

“It’s a relief to know I won’t be leaving the Welsh language behind when I leave school. With more people speaking Welsh, customers now expect a bilingual service so knowing all of the important terms will hopefully improve my chances of getting a job.”

Carolyn Donegan, Head of The College Rhymney, said:

“It is important that we increase our Welsh medium provision and we are delighted to be working with local schools to provide this option. We are even more pleased that the Welsh motor vehicle course has been such a success and we are looking forward to extending this method of teaching to more vocational courses in the future.”

 The College Ystrad Mynach is setting the standard when it comes to being a healthy place to work.

The College has been presented with a bronze award in the Welsh Assembly Government’s Corporate Health Standard scheme,  the quality mark promotinghealth and wellbeing in the workplace.

The award recognises the college’s commitment to providing its staff with a healthier place to work at all its centres across Caerphilly County Borough.

Delivered by Public Health Wales, the scheme encourages organisations to introduce policies and practices which will benefit staff physically, mentally and emotionally.

In order to achieve the accreditation, the college was subject to an intensive assessment which looked at its policies, communication and health and safety.

At The College Ystrad Mynach, healthy schemes which helped the team to secure their award include holding pedometer challenges for staff, a lunchtime walking group and the introduction of cycle to work and car sharing initiatives.

Healthy eating was also a central part of the College’s wellbeing drive, with healthier options introduced to the refectory menu, nutritional advice made available on the intranet and a ‘Fruity Friday’ event held in conjunction with Cancer Research.

Anthony Matthews, the College’s human resources project manager, said work towards the award began 18 months ago when a steering committee was set up.

Under his chairmanship, the committee, whose members included lecturers and business support staff, met on a regular basis to come up with ideas and policies for a portfolio which was scrutinised by an independent assessor.

Mr Matthews said the College, which has centres in Ystrad Mynach, Rhymney, Bargoed, Blackwood, Aber Valley, Caerphilly and Tredomen, previously had a number of healthy schemes running for their staff, but working towards the Corporate Health Standard helped to put them into focus.

“Striving for the Corporate Health Standard gave us a framework to promote healthier living in the college. We had lots of ideas from staff who showed a real enthusiasm and we kept our 550-strong workforce informed of all of the new initiatives we introduced on the college’s intranet.

“Promoting healthy living to staff benefits everyone, as it improves quality of life for employees and we also benefit from reduced absenteeism.

”College Principal Bryn Davies said: “The health of our workforce is extremely important to us. Having a healthy and happy workforce is vital for a thriving educational establishment, and has obvious benefits for our students.

“This award is testament to our commitment to healthy living and the hard work of our staff who have really bought into everything we are trying to achieve.

”The College is not resting on its laurels and is already planning to bypass the silver award and go for the gold standard in January 2012.

The College Ystrad Mynach has unveiled plans to build a brand new £20m leisure and teaching centre for both students and the local community.

The state-of-the-art centre will provide a huge range of leisure and teaching facilities including a full-sized sports hall, an eight-lane 25m swimming pool, a learner pool, a gymnasium, beauty spa and café.

The upper floors of the centre at the top of the college site off Twyn Road will house teaching and learning spaces for the college, including art and photography studios.

In the centre’s atrium, an aeroplane fuselage will be suspended from the roof which will be used by air cabin crew students, and accessed from the upper floor.

It is hoped the centre will be open in time for the college’s September intake in 2013.

The development is still in its early stages and an open day is being held at the college on Wednesday, November 23, from 2pm to 7pm, when residents can look at the plans, see what facilities are being proposed and ask questions about the leisure centre.

Paul Martin, the College Deputy Principal responsible for planning and finance, said the centre would be of benefit to both students and people living nearby.

 “We are looking to accommodate everyone. In the day, the pool will be open for local schools to use for their lessons and then in the evening, the majority of the sports facilities will be available for the public,” said Mr Martin.

The new modern sports facilities will replace the College’s out-of-date gymnasium.

Mr Martin added: “Our sports programmes at the college have been growing for a number of years and the facilities we have for the students are simply out of date. And we also have inadequate facilities for our art and photography students so they will all be upgraded as part of this exciting development.”

College Principal Bryn Davies said: “This new leisure centre will be a fabulous addition to the resources on offer at the College. It will not only benefit our students but also the wider community who will be able to use the state-of-the-art facilities.”

Some of the funding for the ambitious scheme will come from the College and it is hoped further contributions will be secured from the Welsh Government, in addition to grants from Europe and the Sports Lottery.

The college hopes to put in an application for planning permission to Caerphilly County Borough Council in December.

Designed by Bristol architects AWW, the proposed new leisure centre will replace the old S block which is currently used for general education studies.

While the new centre is being built, those studies will be housed in temporary accommodation and then brought in to the main college building.

A hard-working student from The College Ystrad Mynach is in the running to become Apprentice of the Year in a Wales-wide award scheme.

Rhys West, 20, from Penpedairheol, is a finalist in the Apprenticeship Awards Cymru which celebrate the achievements of apprentices, employers and learning providers.

The awards, which are split into eight different categories, are organised by the Welsh Government together with the National Training Federation Wales.

Rhys has been invited to an awards ceremony at the Mercure Cardiff Holland House on November 16 where he will find out if he has won the top prize in the Apprentice of the Year category.

After gaining a handful of low-grade GCSEs at Lewis School in Pengam in 2007, Rhys decided to give plumbing a go and began a four-year apprenticeship with Brecongate Projects Ltd in Treforest. While gaining hands-on experience four days a week with the firm, Rhys was also in the classroom once a week.

For the last two years, he has been studying under the expert tutors at The College Ystrad Mynach and has successfully completed an NVQ Level 3 in mechanical engineering (plumbing).

Rhys has also added to his skills with gas and electrical qualifications by going to evening classes at the college. He said the apprenticeship not only helped him to learn a host of practical skills but also boosted his confidence.

He said:  “The apprenticeship has given me the inspiration and confidence to continue to gain new skills to further develop my career. My self confidence has been boosted having to deal with so many varied situations over the past four years. I also learned a lot about myself and my capabilities.

”When he first started at Brecongate, he was doing small tasks under supervision but very quickly found himself being given a lot more responsibility and, by the end of the second year, was regularly working on his own.

Rhys, who enjoys going to the gym in his spare time, said:  “Training with the college and the support of the tutors and the engineers at Brecongate has been absolutely priceless.”As well as setting him on the road to success, Rhys’ hard work has had other benefits.

He has inspired his father Paul to re-train as a mechanical engineer at The College Ystrad Mynach after 30 years as a full time welder/fabricator.Paul has also been taken on by Brecongate and father and son often work as a team together.

College Principal Bryn Davies said: “Rhys is a shining example of what hard work and determination can achieve. He has worked extremely hard during his apprenticeship and we wish him all the best for the awards and in his future career.”  

Learners have been rewarded for their achievements in the college classroom.

The College Ystrad Mynach held its annual awards presentation evening at Caerphilly Castle where 60 learners were honoured for their hard work over the last 12 months.

Students were presented with awards in a number of different areas including care, technology, carpentry, plumbing, sport and hairdressing.

Anna Gordine, 22 from Bedwas, won the College Basic Skills Award. Anna had been in a special needs class in school, with little opportunity for academic work. Both Anna and her family fought for her to participate in mainstream secondary education and she was finally allowed to take three GCSEs, but not English or Mathematics.

After leaving school, Anna set out to gain the qualifications and learning experience she felt she had been denied, attending a basic skills class in 2008 to enable her access a Child Care course at The College Ystrad Mynach.

She was accepted onto the course and enjoyed a rewarding year, passing all of her exams.

Her tutor Tina Huish said: “Anna is an inspiration. By looking to the future and taking control of her life she has been able to progress in her career, gain independence and has also been able to benefit from the joy of learning.”

Anna is currently studying towards her Level 3 Diploma in Children’s Care, Learning & Development  and also continues to study basic skills at the college.

Anna, whose parents Kerry and Douglas were there to cheer her on at the ceremony, said: “I really didn’t think I had won. I was really, really chuffed though and it’s nice that my hard work has been recognised.”

She works part time at the nursery at Ty’n-Y-Wern Primary School in Trethomas where she is able to put her child care skills to great use. She also has a Saturday job at John Lewis in Cardiff.Anna, who has a twin brother Christian and an older sister Natalie, hopes to become a teaching assistant when she completes her studies.

Conna Johnson, 19, from Trethomas, was presented with the CACHE Level 2 Full Time Care Award. He was the only male in a group of 19.

His tutor Angela Jones said: “Conna has consistently achieved a high standard in placement and course work and always gives his all to his work. A day never passed without Conna making people feel good with his continuous smiling face.”

The awards were presented by Jeff Cuthbert, AM for Caerphilly, who was also governor of the college until May this year.As the Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Skills, he is responsible for identifying the skills needs of employers, learners and learning providers across Wales.

Mr Cuthbert told the students and their proud families and friends:  “All of you here are shining examples of where combined action has achieved a common goal. We have scores of awards being celebrated and every one is very well deserved.“Only by working together will we do our best to tackle the Welsh economy’s short-term challenges head-on, but also plan for the current recovery and the future by building our long-term skills base. All of the learners here tonight will be at the heart of that journey.”

College Principal Bryn Davies said the last year had been a very busy and very successful one for the college, with students and staff working tremendously hard to achieve their goals.And he said how hugely proud he was of the award winners.

“Congratulations to you all. Each and every one of you should be proud of yourselves, for everything you have achieved over the last year,” he added.

Catering at the ceremony on Tuesday, October 18, was provided by the College’s school of catering and hospitality and the evening ended with a performance by Caerphilly Male Voice Choir.Prize sponsors included Caerphilly Rotary Club, Amazing Glazing, Beauty Express, BIIAB, Caerphilly Social Club, CR, Dry Wall Systems, Howells Coaches, Keith’s Fruit and Veg, Latham Properties, Mainline Travel, Morgan Cole, OCR, Rabart Decorators Merchants, Cottage Loaf Bakery, Thomas Morgan and Associates, UWIC and USL Audio Visual.