Forth Valley College’s Skills Transition Centre at the Falkirk Campus was the focus of a visit on Monday 24 November, by representatives of the eight Member Administrations from the British-Irish Council (BIC) recently.
Welcomed to FVC’s Falkirk Campus by the Principal, Kenny MacInnes, the visit, formed part of a two-day itinerary which incorporated a thematic site visit to Scotland focusing on the Just Transition.
During the visit, officials from the BIC Energy Work Sector had an insightful tour of Grangemouth provided by the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, which set the context to the recent industrial changes taking place. This was also an opportunity to get an update on the Just Transition Plan, which provides the framework for partners and key stakeholders working together to support this.
FVC’s Falkirk Campus and the STC was their next stop where the group had an opportunity to get “hands-on” with some of the state-of-the-art equipment including drones, augmented and virtual reality. The STC is a flagship £4m project for FVC and it is the first project to be approved as part of the £90m UK and Scottish Government Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal.
Officials from the Isle of Man Government, Government of Jersey, Government of Guernsey, Government of Ireland, Northern Ireland Executive, UK Government, Welsh Government and Scottish Government as well as representatives of the British-Irish Council Secretariat, CVS Falkirk & District, Scottish Enterprise, Syngenta and INEOS, formed the delegation who visited the Falkirk Campus.
Laura Fraser FVC’s Project Manager for the Skills Transition Centre (STC) and Pauline Jackson, FVC’s Development and Fundraising Manager, who led on the College’s pitch to make the STC a reality, hosted the group during their visit.
Will Sinclair, Joint Head of the BIC Secretariat, commented: “The BIC was established under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement to help promote harmonious, positive and practical relationships among the peoples of these islands through information exchange and collaboration on common areas of interest to its members. The BIC Energy Work Sector’s visit to Forth Valley College’s Skills Transition Centre was an important example of this.”
Kenny MacInnes, Principal of Forth Valley College, said: “I was delighted for the College to have the opportunity to showcase our Skills Transition Centre project and to welcome the delegation from the British-Irish Council to the Falkirk Campus recently. The fact that they were very keen to come to our College to see how we are progressing as one of the first initiatives to get the green light from the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal, shows that our commitment towards creating new opportunities in learning and training to promote the Just Transition is moving in the right direction and I am very proud of that recognition.”
Pauline, said: “It was great to welcome the group to our Falkirk Campus and showcase some of the equipment recently purchased as part of the STC. The STC is supporting individuals and businesses to upskill, reskill and learn new skills to support a Just Transition and we are excited to see this develop over the next 10 years.”
Laura, added: “It was a privilege to show the delegation how the Skills Transition Centre is already making a meaningful impact. Demonstrating our emerging technologies in action highlighted how central the STC will be in upskilling and reskilling today’s workforce, while also shaping the skilled future workforce needed to deliver a successful Just Transition for the region.”
More details about the Skills Transition Centre can be found on our website at: https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/about-us/skills-transition-centre.
