Colleges push ahead with skills programmes after funding approved

Two of the educational products proposed by a new collaboration between colleges in east central Scotland have been approved by the Scottish Government. @fifecollege @edinburghcoll @FVCollege @WestLoCollege

Fife College, Edinburgh College, Forth Valley College and West Lothian College worked together to produce the ‘Our Futures Programme’, a range of courses designed to support reskilling and upskilling for individuals and businesses who have been hit by the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Two of the products set out in the Programme have been given financial backing by the Scottish Government, with colleges across the country now able to introduce Higher National Accelerator Programmes and Skills Boost Courses over a variety of priority sectors.

The new courses will help to address future skills shortages, and help tackle the expected future rise in unemployment in the region.

Fife College will be introducing accelerated versions of existing programmes in areas such as Applied Sciences, Business, Engineering and Computing. The College will also be offering several short-term skills boost courses in Childcare, Digital, Customer Service and Core Numeracy Skills.

Principal of Fife College, Dr Hugh Hall said:

“We’re pleased to have secured the funding to offer these courses.

“Our four colleges came together to devise these programmes because we want to do everything we can to help those who are going to be affected by the Coronavirus pandemic.

“With unemployment expected to rise we need to be taking action now to help reskill and upskill those who are unfortunately affected in our region, so that we are better placed to meet the future needs of the jobs market.

“Now that we’ve received funding for these Accelerator Programmes and Skills Boost Courses, we’re ready to hit the ground running.

“Colleges around Scotland stand ready and eager to help in any way we can. We have a key part to play in Scotland’s economic recovery and programmes such as these will help us do just that.

“Anyone who is interested in applying to these courses should get in touch with us in the new year to learn how Fife College will be able to help them.”

More information on these courses and how to apply will be published in the new year on the College’s website.