A NEW principal and chief executive officer has been appointed for Coleg Ceredigion and Coleg Sir Gâr, following the announcement of current principal Barry Liles’s retirement.

As the current deputy principal, Dr Andrew Cornish is preparing to take the helm at both colleges, bringing a familiar face to staff and students when he officially takes over the role this September.

Dr Cornish began his education at Maesteg Comprehensive School where he studied A-levels before progressing to study an honours degree in physics at University of Liverpool and then a PhD in physics at Cardiff University.

He is a member of the Institute of Physics (CPhys MinstP) and has worked as a peer assessor for Estyn for nearly 20 years, assessing the standards of other further education colleges in Wales. He is also the former chair of the pan Wales curriculum and standards group for further education.

Dr Cornish’s aim is to achieve a highly skilled, confident, sustainable workforce for Wales, creating ambitious and capable learners equipped with the employability skills and academic abilities to achieve in high-quality jobs.

“Developing a curriculum that aligns itself to the needs of employers is a vital and crucial part of our work,” he said. “We will continue to develop our strong links with employers, schools in Carmarthenshire and the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, to build upon the already-established dual-sector university partnership.”

As a committed learner of the Welsh language, Dr Cornish is very passionate about opportunities for Welsh-medium learning, shared by his two sons who are currently studying at university primarily through the medium of Welsh, along with his family who are all Welsh speakers.

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