New Director of Commercialisation and Skills at Forth Valley College – Colin McMurray – will take up his new position on Wednesday 5 January 2022.
Colin will have a focus on strategic development and commercialisation of services. This includes leading and directing the development of commercial income, non-Scottish Funding Council Grant in Aid funding and SDS Modern Apprenticeship income Other key areas of responsibility include developing and managing a dynamic and client-centred portfolio of commercial training programmes and services and growing the delivery of the College’s highly successful work-based learning provision
An accomplished Managing Director and Senior Manager, Colin has a proven track record in developing, growing and overhauling financial performance in line with strategic priorities. He has demonstrable expertise operating as a Board Director to develop and implement the strategy as well as manage operational performance including monitoring KPIs.
He previously worked with Sea Containers, Clyde Marine Training, The Clyde Group and Stream Marine Training, as well as performing roles as on various boards of organisations such as City of Glasgow College Board of Governors and the Merchant Navy Training Board. He has extensive experience of complex organisations with the ability to manage financial performance and implement significant change and improvement projects.
Colin will also develop and manage the commercialisation of the College estate and we spoke with him recently, to get his thoughts on his new role.
How much are you looking forward to working at Forth Valley College?
“I am both delighted and excited to be moving to FVC in Jan 2022. There is a renewed focus on the sector income and looking at how educational institutes will respond to this challenge. In this unique role within the College, it will allow me to add value with my commercial experience and business network as we look to continue and grow the success of the College. Having met several of the SMT and staff on a recent visit, the overwhelming positivity and desire to harness opportunities, match my own ambitions and will ensure it will be a great place to work.”
What attracted you to working at the College?
“I have had the privilege of being involved in the education sector for over 10 years having spent time on both secondary school and college boards. FVC has a fearsome reputation for its innovative, creative approach to learning and teaching and is renowned for its commercial partnerships and commitment to apprenticeships. The new campuses are all state of the art and the facilities contained within them are some of the best in the UK. Combine that with the staff and the quality of the delivery then it wraps it nicely into a unique offering.”
What do you hope to achieve in your new role at the College?
“I hope to create opportunity and success without limits! Seriously though, first off it is a case of listening and learning from the team, gaining an understanding of the processes and evaluating the current offerings. Then armed with this information we can look to add value through expansion and diversification by utilising both existing and new facilities.”