Middlesbrough College is strengthening its commitment to Tees Valley’s economic future with four new appointments, further supporting local businesses, tackling skills shortages and developing tomorrow’s workforce.
The new commercial team includes recently appointed Maret Ward, Head of Apprenticeships Business Development, and John Gettings, Head of Commercial Business Development, who will join James Barwick, Head of Business Development for Adult Skills and Employer-Led Provision, to lead the College’s employer-facing offer.
Dawn Longmore has also been promoted to Assistant Principal for Apprenticeships, responsible for quality, compliance, and learner achievement. Working closely with employers across the North East, she will help ensure apprenticeship provision supports business needs while delivering positive outcomes for learners.
Together, the whole team will strengthen employer partnerships and make it easier for businesses to access high-quality training and workforce development solutions that address skills needs and support growth.
Under Deputy Principal/CEO Gary Potts’ leadership, the team will strengthen employer engagement, simplify access to training, and deliver responsive, high-quality programmes that help businesses develop the skills needed to capitalise on emerging opportunities.
The college currently supports around 2,000 apprentices annually, works with more than 2,000 employers including PD Ports, Tees Components, Northumbria Water, Balfour Beatty and the NHS and offers over 50 apprenticeship standards. Ofsted rated its apprenticeship provision Outstanding in 2024, with achievement rates placing it among the UK’s top ten general further education colleges.
For Gary, whose own career began with an apprenticeship, the ambition is particularly personal. “My apprenticeship massively helped develop me and shaped the rest of my life. I want to make sure we’re giving lots of young people and adults that same opportunity to build long-term, high-quality, sustainable careers.”
With an ageing skilled workforce and growing demand for technical expertise, Gary believes businesses must invest now to ensure local people can benefit from the opportunities coming to Tees Valley in the near future.
Gary adds: “We need to start developing that next generation now, based on our region’s forecast workforce demands, so the skills are available in time for when we require them, and that’s why we ourselves have invested in these new roles.
“We want to inspire young people to access local employment opportunities and to aspire to work in the region, so connection and visibility with local employers is vital to enable that. There’s a saying: ‘If you can see it, you can be it.’ It’s about starting that aspiration young and then keeping that fire burning.”
The new team will help employers connect with the college and its students, navigate funding, access specialist training, offer work experience and develop tailored solutions to their workforce challenges.
And Gary’s message to businesses is simple: “Please pick up the phone and have a conversation with us.
“Whether you’ve got challenges around skills or you simply want to make a difference to young people’s lives, come in and see what the college does. We can help.”
By investing in its people, strengthening industry partnerships and inspiring future generations, Middlesbrough College is helping ensure Tees Valley’s workforce is ready to shape the region’s economic future.
