About Us
A Different Kind of College
The Co-operative College is non-traditional college which works from its home in Manchester with learners and co-operatives all over the world, from schoolchildren to African worker co-operatives.
The Co-operative College is dedicated to the promotion of Co-operative values, ideas and principles within co-operatives, communities and society, from managing the Rochdale Pioneers Museum, birthplace of the modern co-operative movement, to pioneering work with schools and young people.
Since it was founded in 1919, the College has developed four key areas of work:
- Developing members and managers.
- Working with co-operatives globally.
- Learning from our heritage.
- Working with schools and young people.
Today the College works with all the major co-operative societies in the UK and delivers programmes of training and education around the world to help individuals and groups achieve the level of skill, knowledge and understanding required to translate ideals into effective practice. In the UK, the College is developing new models to run schools as co-operatives.
The College has developed a broad range of partnerships to support its work including NGOs, colleges, universities and other training providers around the world, and the Co-operative College is always building partnerships with new organisations to help build successful co-operative and mutual businesses.
