A special Institute of Directors Scotland award has been presented to honour Forth Valley College and its Principal Dr Ken Thomson OBE.
The judging panel for the prestigious IoD Scotland Director of the Year Awards, was unanimous in its desire to present Principal Thomson with a special honorary award in recognition of all that he has doing and has done in Leadership and Education, and for what the College as a whole is doing in the education, learning and skills sector.
Aidan O’Carroll Chair of Institute of Directors Scotland, visited the Falkirk Campus on Monday 6 December to personally present Ken with his award and to record a filmed message specially for the awards, held online on Thursday 9 December between 6-8pm and hosted by television and radio presenter, Shereen Nanjiani MBE.
Mr O’Carroll, said: “As Chief Executive and Principal of Forth Valley College, Dr Thomson has been an inspirational leader since becoming Principal in 2013, and is someone who is responsible – along with his senior management team and entire workforce – for delivering learning to so many across the whole of Scotland.
“It stands with the IoD’s ambition to ensure that lifelong learning and professional development is at the heart of everything we do. So I am absolutely delighted to present you with this special award in recognition of your achievements and all of the learning that people have benefited from as a result of what you and your team have been doing here at Forth Valley College.”
Louise Macdonald, National Director of the Institute of Directors Scotland, added: “Leaders have faced an incredibly challenging two years in businesses and cross sector organisations across the country, with many being forced to pivot operations and switch from thriving to surviving and back to thriving. The awards honour the resilience and tenacity of those directors, celebrating the leaders who are continuing to drive Scotland’s economy and communities forward with passion and determination despite the most extraordinary conditions. The standard of entries was excellent this year, and we were thrilled to be able to recognise Dr Ken Thomson as part of our 2022 cohort of awardees.”
Dr Ken Thomson who in 2019 was awarded an OBE for services to education, economic development and the communities of central Scotland, also won the Regional Director – Central Scotland award at the 2020 IoD Awards.
He said: “This has come as a massive surprise, but I am absolutely delighted to have won this award and to be sharing it with all of the colleagues I have worked with here during my many, many years at Forth Valley College.
“Developing leadership and succession planning is really important here, as is our success in supporting our staff to move on to bigger opportunities. I became Principal in 2013 and at that time Forth Valley College had a really good reputation but we needed to take it forward from good to great and even better.
“I came up with the mission statement of Making Learning Work and it has been our mantra for nearly 10 years now, ensuring that we want to Make Learning Work for our students, whether they be school pupils in Foundation Apprenticeships or in our School College Partnership, through to Making Learning Work for our partners whether that be in the City Deal or supporting employers through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund. But it is all about being proactive, being on the front foot and having the college at the forefront of ensuring we have a skilled workforce for the future. This is especially true as we come out of Covid and we are looking towards economic recovery and building back a much better Scotland.
“On this fantastic award I thank Aidan, Louise and I thank the Institute of Directors Scotland, for something that I will treasure for many, many years to come. I must say that although I have received this award I honestly feel that it reflects, not only myself, but also the quality of the organisation I represent and I am proud to have won in my role as Principal of such a wonderful college.”