Forth Valley College became the first training provider in Scotland to deliver an innovative Engineering, Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) Scholarship Programme, when the first students started lessons recently.
ECITB’s CEO Chris Claydon and Head of New Entrants Adrian Wookey was present at the Falkirk Campus on Friday 3 September to welcome the new students onto the scholarship and make sure they settled in well.
Adeel Khan, Christopher McCue, Logan Carr, Marc Brown, Przemyslaw Tkaczyk, Paramvhir Deere and Nathan Morrison all focussing on Electrical Engineering, Kristopher Cooke, Daniel Graham, Connor Kenny and Caitlin Hodge all focussing on Mechanical Engineering and Kamil Drabinski who will be focussing on Instrumentation and Control, all posed for a photo to mark the occasion.
The ‘ECITB Scholarship’ course has been introduced to mitigate the long-term effects of the COVID-19 crisis by implementing a pipeline model for entry into the engineering sector.
The two-year course will be delivered at FVC’s Falkirk Campus, four days per week from August 2021 to June 2023. Course outcomes include a HNC in Engineering Systems and the Performance Engineering Operations qualification.
The varied programme will also include industry talks, employer visits and a simulated project. Candidates will be supported throughout by both ECITB and FVC staff to enhance their opportunities to progress onto employment in the engineering industry.
Dr Ken Thomson OBE, Principal of Forth Valley College, said: “This exciting new scholarship is another example of the excellent relationship we have with ECITB and we are delighted to be the first college to be able to offer the programme.
“Both ECITB and Forth Valley College will be playing an important role to support the Scottish economic recovery from the Covid pandemic. ECITB have a tremendous reputation for training and developing new engineering and construction professionals and this scholarship will enhance that even further. Innovations like the Scholarship Programme, will allow Forth Valley College and our partners to show how serious we are in supporting the Scottish economic recovery, as we emerge from the last 18 months of Covid restrictions.”