MIDDLESBROUGH and Gateshead Colleges have announced their intention to consider ways of working closer.

The aim is to ensure their students have the best possible access to expertise, job opportunities and links with employers.

The colleges will explore different models of collaboration which enable them to remain independent and maintain their local focus whilst benefitting from their combined strengths.

Both colleges are extremely successful in their own right and are members of the entrepreneurial Gazelle Colleges Group.

Each college has particular strengths that can benefit the other. For example Middlesbrough College has a significant track record in growing, and delivering high quality, mainstream 16-19 education and Gateshead College is particularly successful in employer engagement. The two principals believe that together they are better placed to grow, improve performance and increase financial resilience to secure the future of the colleges - for staff, students and the local communities.

Mike Hopkins, principal and chief executive of Middlesbrough College, said: "We are focused on giving the best possible service to our students and employers from our Middlesbrough campus - at the end of the day it is all about jobs and giving people and employers on Teesside and beyond the best possible opportunities for prosperity.

"A shared focus on students and employers, allied with commitment to our staff, are qualities that will underpin our collaborative work in the future. The world of further education is changing fast, and this signals our combined determination to ensure that the colleges continue to thrive.

Richard Thorold, principal and chief executive at Gateshead College, said: "We're at an exciting but early stage in the process to explore ways to work more closely with Middlesbrough College. Both colleges, at this time, want to retain their autonomy and local focus but we see enormous value and opportunity in growing and developing areas through collaboration.

"We have a similar culture and ethos, a focus on enterprise and employability and a strong commitment to people development. Our distinctive strengths and skills could, when pooled, offer students in each college a better learning experience and employers a better motivated and skilled workforce."