Talk to most senior business leaders and HR people and they will tell you that talent is difficult to find and even harder to retain. As we emerge from a challenging year for almost all industries, businesses find themselves competing for those with the most valuable skills, while the ageing workforce are re-evaluating what is most important to them.
Now organisations, including our own, are reimagining what their workforce looks like and how it works best, recognising that priorities have changed and benefits like flexible working and professional development opportunities are what will attract (and keep) the right talent.
One of the most important tools in this tussle for talent will be the ability to grow and nurture our own, both within institutions and as a sector. At NCG - a group of seven colleges across the country - we’ve been investing in this model, and developing our leadership, for some time, and the rewards are starting to come in.
Last month we were thrilled to announce new principals at three of our colleges. NCG has appointed Sarah McGrath as principal of Carlisle College, Cat Draper as principal of Kidderminster College and Scott Bullock as principal of Newcastle College. All the successful candidates were internal recruits from the NCG community, appointed in the face of strong external competition, and now also part of NCG’s executive group as we continue to drive NCG’s strategy towards 2030 forward.
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Sarah McGrath has been serving as an assistant principal at Carlisle College. She replaces Grant Glendinning, who has been promoted to the new role of executive principal North. Cat Draper at Kidderminster has served as deputy, and more recently interim principal, at Kidderminster College. Scott Bullock has served as vice principal at Newcastle College for a number of years and has held the interim principal role for nearly a year, replacing Tony Lewin who has been promoted to the new role of executive principal South.
Supporting inclusive leadership development
These new additions to our leadership team demonstrate the strength, talent and depth of our wider family and our ethos of “one NCG”. It has never been more important to work together and to build on the collaborative successes we have achieved as one team, from navigating the challenges of a pandemic to implementing new mental health support to our learners and colleagues.
We want to continue to develop from within, and one of our main tools for developing people in this way going forward will be the NCG Leadership Hub. With this new initiative we are creating a framework of principles to underpin expectations, priorities, language and behaviours, while supporting inclusive leadership development at every level. The Hub will deliver three levels of leadership development: talent spotting aspiring leaders and giving them the opportunity to develop the skills they will need to progress; professional development to realise ambitions for existing leaders; and a programme for senior leaders to ensure that they are leading the organisation effectively and inspiring our professional community.
Throughout the training, participants undertake personal development activity, participate in action learning sets, and have the opportunity to meet and collaborate with other emerging leaders across the group.
An important part of the Hub is the requirement for all participants to implement a project plan for something that will benefit the organisation. This could be the introduction of a new course, or new curriculum area, or new pedagogy; it could be a social enterprise action that encourages local people to engage better with their college; it could be a business reorganisation plan to achieve more cost-effectiveness or operational enhancement. The projects are presented to and assessed by a panel of senior sponsors.
This robust leadership across all of our colleges - brilliantly exemplified by Sarah, Cat and Scott - puts us in a strong position to continue delivering our strategy of social mobility through economic prosperity, to ensure the best experience and outcomes for learners across our group.
As the needs of our learners and communities change, so too will our colleagues’ needs, and the stronger the shared vocabulary and culture of excellence that we can create within our team at all levels, the better we will be able to meet that challenge as “One NCG”.
Liz Bromley is the chief executive of NCG
