A cohort of evening students – who were among the first to graduate with HNCs in Management and Leadership – have shown there should be no barriers to learning.
Remarkably, three of the students became pregnant and had babies over the duration of the programme; which saw students attend college two nights per week over two years at the Falkirk Campus to complete their studies, while they and their classmates were all holding down demanding jobs and trying to juggle a family life too!
Another two of the group have successfully progressed on to a degree course at Heriot-Watt University as a result of completing their FVC course at the end of 2019 and achieving their HNCs.
Jennifer Hogarth, Curriculum Manager in the department of Business and Communities, said: “They have been a great bunch of students. I know it is has not been an easy two years dedicating time to their studies as they negotiate already busy working and home lives, so they should be super proud of themselves. I certainly am very proud of them and I know the rest of the teaching team are too. We are genuinely going to miss them all very much.”
A number of the HNC group - Michelle Robertson, Lisa Montgomery, Angela Muirhead, Marie Gardner, Allison Grant, Iasha Craig and Steven Davidson (with only Pauline Donaldson and Dean Falconer unable to attend) – visited the new Falkirk Campus for a celebration get together and tour of the new building.
Marie Gardner from Bonnybridge, who works for the Water Industry Commission for Scotland based in Stirling and Iasha Craig FVC’s Foundation Apprenticeship Work Placement Coordinator are also celebrating a new arrival on the scene… as they begin a Graduate Apprenticeship MA Hons in Business Management at Heriot-Watt University.
Marie, who also completed a Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Foundation Certificate at FVC’s Alloa Campus while studying for the HNC in Management and Leadership, said: “It was a really good class and I was looking to study for the type of course that can be used for anything in your career and this has helped me in the workplace. I can say it helped me secure my role as Senior Business Support Officer at the Water Industry Commission. I am also loving the Graduate Apprenticeship course, which I entered into second year as I had completed the HNC. Doing the evening course shows your work or a university that you are committed to progression and they are more keen to take you on or offer you a place.”
Iasha, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the range of units and especially enjoyed the units Managing People and Managing Change. As these units are elements that are applied in any workplace and relevant to any managerial role.
“It was a great class as we were all were focused on achieving this great qualification to progress our careers in the future. So when my employer selected me to continue my learner journey with the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme at Heriot Watt I was excited and prepared to move on, and even more excited to learn that my HNC units allowed me to start in second year. I passed the details of this great opportunity to all the class and Marie was also successful, which means we are ‘Education Buddies’ for the next two years.
“This great course showed me and my employer that I was dedicated to progression.”
Steven Davidson, who works as a Prison Officer, said: “I enjoyed the course. It was hard work at times and trying to relate some of the subjects to my job role was challenging, but I had excellent support from the staff and my classmates. The lecturers understood the difficulties of balancing evening studies with shift work and were flexible with assessment dates and time off. I highly recommend the course and it will help me progress in my career."
Classmate Allison Grant from Fankerton near Denny, works as a Medical Secretary at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital, and added: “It was good and I liked the project work. Accounts were not my strong point, but I got by. It was great meeting everybody and becoming very good friends with them all. We have all supported each other through the course which has been great. I would recommend it to anyone. I was a wee bit apprehensive about it to start with, but I had no need to be concerned as the support from classmates and staff was really good.”
Anyone wishing to find out more about the HNC Management and Leadership or any other Business courses at Forth Valley College should visit https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/courses/business or call 01324 403000