The first Career College in Scotland has been approved by the Career Colleges Trust. It will be sponsored by civil engineering contractor Sir Robert McAlpine.
Career Colleges aim to equip people with the skills needed by businesses in a range of industries including healthcare, hospitality and digital, as well as construction. There are more than 20 Career Colleges operating around the UK.
The pilot initiative in Scotland, which will run at City of Glasgow College, will focus on new digital methods of construction and offer employer-led skills training to 16- to 18-year-olds. The college will run the Career College as part of its tertiary offer, while McAlpine, which constructed its twin-site campus, is sponsoring the new provision.
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Pilot project
This curriculum will run from April 2020 as a pilot, and the full Career College will then open in September 2020. The successful curriculum will be rolled out to other colleges around the country in 2021.
Bev Jones, chief executive of the Career Colleges Trust, 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.”
City of Glasgow College principal and chief executive 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 groundbreaking 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.”
Edward McAlpine, chair of McAlpine, said: “Having recently celebrated our 150th anniversary, we feel it is 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.”
