Cardiff and Vale College a finalist in the 2022-23 Beacon Awards

Cardiff and Vale College has made it through as a finalist in the prestigious Association of Colleges (AoC) Beacon Awards.

Known as the ‘College Oscars’, the Beacon Awards celebrate the best and most innovative practice among UK colleges each year. The College has been shortlisted in the AoC Award for Excellence in Governance category.

CAVC has recently transformed its governing body, not only to increase the equality and diversity of its board, but also to actively headhunt among the local community. This included a setting up a Community Board which was noted as a sector-leading practice by the 2020 Economic and Social Research Council’s Further Education Governance project.

Further changes to encourage a wider range of Governors include flexible meeting times, having different levels of Governors to encourage people with different time commitments to join the Board, and changing the regularity of meetings to reflect change in real time.

Cardiff and Vale College Principal Sharon James said: “We are delighted to have been shortlisted for the Beacon Award for Excellence in Governance.

“At CAVC we operate in some of the most vibrant and diverse communities in Wales. We see ourselves as being at the heart of the communities we serve and to support that we have worked to ensure that our Governing Body reflects the equality and diversity of those communities.”

Cardiff and Vale College Head of Group Governance and Clerk to the Corporation Louise Thomas said: “I am delighted that all our persistent hard work over the last ten years to develop a strong and representative Board of hugely talented individuals, has come to fruition and been recognised by the AoC in its first Award specifically for Governance. I am grateful that we now have been given the opportunity to showcase our journey and sector-leading practices to date, and look forward to the finals in early 2023!”

CAVC Group Chief Executive Mike James said: “The CAVC Group governing body brings together a diverse group of talented people from across our region, with professional expertise and personal lived experiences that help us to shape our work. We are incredibly grateful to each of our members, whose voluntary commitment is invaluable in supporting the College to remain an agile business that responds to the needs of our community.”

UPDATE: 

Chair of Governors Geraint Evans and Head of Group Governance and Clerk to the Corporation Louise Thomas recently went to the awards ceremony. Unfortunately the College didn't win, but to be recognised as one of the leading colleges in the UK for governance is a real achievement.