Computing students packed out a Forth Valley College meeting room recently to listen to a talk on Oracle services by the highly respected locally based Inoapps firm.
The relationship between FVC and Inoapps was born when college Computing Lecturer William McRae met Dermot Murray – Vice President of Ideation at Inoapps - at a recent CDN College Development Network (CDN) event. It was here they both realised that FVC students were being trained in the very skills that Inoapps were looking for in their new employees.
William and Dermot have since been paired on the innovative Critical Friends scheme and are looking forward to collaborating more closely in the future. Critical Friends is a programme created by the Digital Skills Partnership which connects lecturers with an individual from industry to help gain insight into current industry practice and keep curriculum up-to-date, so that students have the skills they need to meet the rapidly growing and changing skills requirements of the industry.
Inoapps focuses exclusively on delivering cutting-edge Oracle on-premises and Oracle Cloud solutions for their clients, which deliver operational excellence and maximise the benefits of their Oracle investment. They do this by supporting their customers throughout their Oracle journey, always delivering solutions to the challenges they meet.
Dermot Murray, from Inoapps, said: “Thank you to William McRae and all the team in the Computing department at Forth Valley College for inviting the Inoapps team along to talk to their students about career paths in the world of Oracle Cloud.
“It was great to see the fantastic new campus, a brilliant facility for all your students. It was really encouraging to see the work that the team are putting into the soft skills of communication and continuous learning, as well as the core development and cyber security skills.
“As a local employer it is vital that we have access to high quality individuals that we can bring into our team, and offer long term careers in the digital sector. Only by ensuring that we continue to invest in these core digital tech skills, will we ensure that organisations like Inoapps can gain access to the talent needed to support future growth. We look forward to continue to work with Forth Valley College in the future, and hope that some of the students will be able to secure future careers in the Inoapps team.”
FVC lecturer William McRae, said: “Students from all levels of our computing courses - ranging from Access to Computing, HN Software development, HN Cyber Security and BSc Software Development with Cyber Security - attended the event. In total around 80 students came along, including some who gave up their day off just to attend.
"It was amazing to get Dermot in representing Inoapps, a local company that employs more than 300 staff worldwide, focusing on financial solutions for medium to large organisations. It really drove home the value of what the students are learning in their courses and how relevant the skills are in the modern workplace. Hearing from people who work in the industry has really helped focus them on their studies, knowing that they have a bright future ahead of them!"
Vivien Gallacher, Curriculum Manager in FVC’s Department of Creative Industries, Hospitality and Tourism, said: “We were delighted to welcome Dermot from Inoapps to our new Falkirk Campus last week. It was really encouraging to see how popular the presentation was with our students and staff as the Antonine Suite room did not have a spare seat! We look forward to building and developing further the strong links we already have with Inoapps.”