SOUTH Cheshire College principal Jasbir Dhesi has been appointed principal and chief executive designate of a proposed new FE college for the area.

Following a review of further education, four FE colleges - South Cheshire, West Cheshire, Mid Cheshire and Warrington Collegiate - agreed to begin a merger process to create a new FE college for Cheshire and Warrington.

Mid Cheshire College has campuses at Northwich and Winsford, and South Cheshire College is based at Crewe.

Phase one of the project would involve the merger of South Cheshire College and West Cheshire College by January 2017, followed by phase two, the merger of Mid Cheshire College by August 2017 and Warrington Collegiate by January 2018.

The proposed merger was announced in July, and a public consultation on phase one took place between September 1 and October 1 to gather views on the proposed new FE college, as well as the proposed change of name to The Cheshire College.

A summary of the consultation and its outcome will be published by December.

Mr Dhesi is the principal and chief executive of South Cheshire College. He will continue in this role alongside his responsibilities for the new FE college until the proposed merger, after which he will take on the new position in full.

Mr Dhesi was appointed following an interview and selection process with the appointment panel of the merger steering group, including an external advisor. He said: “I am delighted to take on the position of principal and chief executive designate for the proposed new college.

“We have just completed our public consultation on the merger, and initial feedback indicates overwhelming support for our proposals. “This is an exciting and important time as we continue to develop our plans to ensure we deliver high quality training and learning for students, the community and employers.”

Having worked in further education since graduating from university, Mr Dhesi has been in his role at South Cheshire College since January 2014.

His experience has included a variety of senior management positions since 1996, including vice-principal and later the principal at Yale College in Wrexham.