Scotland’s first Career College to take construction training to the next level

The Career Colleges Trust has approved City of Glasgow College to launch the first Career College in Scotland sponsored by family-owned building and civil engineering contractor, Sir Robert M^cAlpine. 

The pioneering initiative will offer employer-led skills training to 16-18-year olds. Its focus will be on the new digital methods of construction which are becoming crucial within modern industry.

City of Glasgow College will run the Career College as part of its wide-ranging and high-quality tertiary education offer – and Sir Robert McAlpine, who constructed the College’s twin site super-campus development, is sponsoring the new provision.

Chairman of Sir Robert M^cAlpine, Edward M^cAlpine, says:

“Having recently celebrated our 150^th anniversary, we feel it our responsibility to put our long legacy of innovation, skills and technical excellence at the service of younger generations. We are committed to addressing the skills gap in the industry by supporting education and promoting careers in construction.”

“We chose to work with the City of Glasgow College, for its high-quality provision of education and to reflect our company’s Scottish heritage. We are delighted to be establishing Scotland’s first Career College and very much look forward to working with the College and with the Career Colleges Trust to create a model of education that will benefit both young people, the construction industry and the wider economy.”

CEO of the Career Colleges Trust, Bev Jones, said:

“Career Colleges are all about supporting industry and educators to work together and ensure that young people have the skills they need to pursue a successful career. Having identified a clear skills gap, McAlpine has worked with us to identify a College that can help it to tackle the issue.

“We are delighted to approve City of Glasgow College as a Career College and have absolute confidence that its partnership with Sir Robert McAlpine will offer huge benefits to both students, the community and the industry.” 

The Career Colleges Trust is now working with Sir Robert M^cAlpine and City of Glasgow College to develop a digital construction curriculum that meets the future needs of industry. This curriculum will run from April 2020 as a pilot and the full Career College will open in September 2020. The successful curriculum will be then rolled out to other colleges around the country in 2021.

 Principal and Chief Executive at City of Glasgow College, Paul Little, added:

“Our College has a strong track record of working with industry for the benefit of our students. We look forward to working with Career Colleges Trust and Sir Robert McAlpine to deliver this ground-breaking initiative. The construction industry offers a range of exciting career opportunities which our students, equipped with industry-led skills and knowledge, will be able to take full advantage of.” 

Career Colleges are employer-led ventures that work in partnership with a range of education providers. They aim to equip people with the skills needed by businesses in a wide range of industries including; health care, hospitality and digital as well as construction. There are currently over 20 Career Colleges operating around the UK.