New College Durham is proud to announce that Principal and Chief Executive, Andy Broadbent, has joined the Association of Colleges Board as the North East Regional Representative
The Association of Colleges (AoC) is the national voice for colleges and exists to promote and support their interests. The AoC Board, which meets on average four times a year, sets the strategic direction for the organisation and approves major spends. The Board consists of a principal from each of the nine English regions, a maximum of seven governors and further members who represent the interests of the varied member colleges.
Andy has over 26 years’ experience working in the education sector. He began his career in further education at Newcastle College as a financial accountant, during which time he qualified through the ACCA route and now holds Fellow status. After a spell as Senior Service Accountant for Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Andy returned to education taking on the role of Head of Finance at New College Durham. He subsequently progressed to Director of Finance, Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Principal. Throughout this period, Andy was instrumental in raising the College’s financial status to ‘Outstanding’ in 2008 and maintaining this rating to the present day through some of the most challenging times that have been experienced in the further education sector. In 2020 Andy was appointed as Principal and Chief Executive of New College Durham.
Andy will also be a member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. Andy said: “I am proud to take up the position of North East Regional Representative on the Association of Colleges Board. The AoC is the national voice for further education, sixth form, tertiary and specialist colleges in England. I look forward to playing a part in shaping its policy agenda and helping to make the further education sector strong, sustainable and secure for years to come.”
New College Durham is a large, general further education (GFE) College, rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted in 2009. The College is the largest college to provide vocational further and higher education in County Durham. The College positions itself to respond to skills needs locally and across the region and works with employers and their representative groups to ensure that future skills needs are being addressed.