The Centre for Innovation and Partnerships (CIPs) at Newham
College has helped thousands of people and businesses through a
huge range of initiatives, from comprehensive regeneration projects
to short training programmes delivering pre-employment skills. CIPs
also manages the Fashion and Textile Museum, a Discovery Lab
focusing on emerging technologies and the UK’s first purpose built
Women’s Business Centre.
CIPs was established in 1997 by Newham College of Further
Education. Utilising European and other regeneration funds and
working collaboratively with a wide range of partners, CIPs has
sucessfully opened up new ways of training and support for
individuals and businesses.
CIPs work is split across two distinct strands - Supporting Enterprise and Skills for Jobs. Through our enterprise work,
we support businesses across a wide range of sectors, including
business start-ups, creative businesses and businesses from women and BAME groups.
We also have a Train to Gain team who are
providing flexible employee training for businesses throughout
London and Kent. In addition to these areas of work, CIPs manages
Newham College’s fashion department, running courses for all
levels, including our highly successful Bespoke
Tailoring pre-apprentice training programme, in partnership
with Savile Row
Bespoke.
Our Skills for Jobs team provide
training and work experience for young people, as well as a full
programme of pre-employment training courses for unemployed people,
providing them with key employability skills, as well as the
opportunity to gain skills in specific sectors, including catering,
security, construction and administration.
In May 2008, CIPs also opened the first dedicated Women’s Business Centre in the UK. The centre, in
Newham College’s East Ham Campus, provides incubator space,
networking opportunities, seminars, coaching and training for new
and established women entrepreneurs.
CIPs also manage the Fashion and
Textile Museum (FTM), bought by Newham College in 2006.
Since then, a diverse programme of exhibitions, events and business
training has been developed.
CIPs also has a Transnational
Co-ordinator, who manages a wide variety of interlingual and
intercultural education programmes. Over 1500 foreign exchange
visits and work placements have been organised as well
as delivering an array of European projects aimed at
enhancing social and economic impact and creating
new opportunities and access to new markets.
Looking to the future, CIPs has recently opened the Discovery Lab. This state of the art centre is
providing training in cutting edge technology, including Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID) and Nanotechnolgy.
CIPs initiatives include a highly diverse range of activities
from comprehensive regeneration projects to simple initiatives
delivering pre-employment skills. We are providing training geared
at helping businesses supply the Olympic Games, help for businesses
who want to ‘go green’ in these eco-aware
times and ever expanding support for East London’s thriving fashion
design and retail sector, as well as delivering employability
training to ensure local people are well prepared to access the new
jobs in the Thames Gateway. CIPs won two Beacon Awards in
2004 and was highly commended in 2006. CIPs’ Director Di Gowland
was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise Promotion in 2005.
CIPs was recently awarded 'Outstanding' in an Ofsted
inspection, a testament to the positive work and outcomes
achieved. CIPs is also proud to be awarded the Matrix
Standard, Training Quality Standard and Investors In People at
Gold Level.