Christmas school leavers and returning students looking to change careers, could snap up a place on full-time Forth Valley College courses starting in January 2024 at all three campuses in Falkirk, Stirling and Alloa.
Anyone hoping to choose and apply for a course will be delighted to know that the college has places available in courses across all three teaching departments: Care, Sport, Business and Communities; Creative, Digital and Leisure Industries, and STEM and Construction.
Christmas school leavers eager to push on and enter a trade, or someone who realised that school was not for them and are keen to flourish in further education are being encouraged to apply. It is also worth pointing out that gaining a place on an Access course in January could lead to enrolment on a higher level course upon successful completion, further improving students’ career potential.
Former January start students were in agreement.
Zak Gray (18) from Falkirk, who completed a New Start – Creative Industries course which helped him progress on to a NC Media – Film and Television course, said: “I believe it is good to take January start courses as they feel like a good way to ease people into the college lifestyle, and doesn't put people under a huge workload in such a short span of time.”
Ana Mendoza Cruz (42) from Linlithgow, who completed a Preparation for Lab Tech Work on a January start course and led on to her taking a HND Applied Biological Sciences, said: “The College provides a supportive environment for neurodiverse learners and promotes their inclusion and adaptation in higher education. The course was guided by a team of experienced professionals who provided me with valuable guidance, advice, and insights into the industry, they shared their own experiences and expertise, which helped me broaden my knowledge and enhance my skills. I gained a better understanding of the industry, various career possibilities, and the latest trends and best practices.”
Making Learning Work is the dynamic ethos behind everything the award winning Forth Valley College does and they are confident of offering innovative and exciting subjects throughout their three state-of-the-art campuses in Falkirk (opened in 2020), Alloa (2011) and Stirling (2012), ranging from Access to Degree level.
Forth Valley College, which in 2005 became the first merged college in Scotland, is a leading provider of further and higher education offering a wide range of courses and training opportunites.
Winner of the prestigious 2014 Beacon Award for Innovation as well as several other national Further Education honours over the last seven years - the college welcomes approximately 12,000 students per academic session with 94% of learners progressing to further studies or employment upon completion of their course – proof that completing a course at FVC is an excellent starting point for a successful career.
Anyone hoping to study science, engineering or construction at the FVC Falkirk Campus should know that the College is one of Scotland’s leading STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) colleges and strategically linked to the Grangemouth strip with its numerous strong industry links.
The STEM and Construction Department has created state-of-the-art training facilities which allow the College to offer innovative integrated degree programmes in this field, linked to the University of Strathclyde, Heriot-Watt University, Napier University and the University of Stirling and provides training to more than 1000 Modern Apprentices (MAs) every year in everything from engineering to construction.
Care, Sport, Business and Communities courses can also be found at the Falkirk Campus – opened in 2020 – and is arguably one of the best learning facilities to be found anywhere in Scotland.
Computing courses are another area of expertise at the Falkirk and Alloa Campuses and the skills students learn in this area will put them at the forefront of the challenge of cyber security in the UK in the years to come.
At the Stirling Campus perhaps applicants could serve up a new career for themselves by applying for a course in Hospitality as the classy Gallery training restaurant - which is open to the public – educates the next generation of chefs and front of house staff. Likewise, the College’s training hair and beauty salons at Falkirk and Alloa, have built up a respected reputation for producing work-ready and talented hairdressers and beauty therapists.
Creative Industries are also particularly strong at Stirling and Integrated BA degrees in Art and Design and Digital Media, in partnership with the University of Stirling, are developing respected reputations across the country.
Business and care courses are a speciality at the Alloa Campus and FVC are confident they will have exactly what potential students are looking for as they look to start their career path from scratch or enhance their existing skills.
To cap it all the College works closely with a wide range of partners to ensure they are delivering opportunities which meet the needs of learners, employers, local industry and national skill agendas – in short FVC are Making Learning Work in everything that they do and they want to help people choose a course that works for them.
The FVC website https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/courses/ will be regularly updated till the start date of all courses to keep those applying informed of course availability.