Forth Valley College has unveiled its range of Reset Courses to be offered as part of the exciting new East Central Scotland Colleges Collaboration.
The initiative launched last month consisting of Edinburgh College, Fife College, West Lothian College and FVC aims to deliver skills and opportunities in Scotland to support the economic recovery, currently suffering from the effects of the pandemic lockdown.
Each college will offer a comprehensive skills programme – including Accelerator (Fast Track) and Skills Boost courses - all designed to help meet the future needs of their specific communities as well as the country as a whole.
Forth Valley College’s Reset range includes:
Business: Fast Track HNC Business; Fast Track NPA Business with IT; Fast Track PDA Information Technology in Business; Fast Track PDA in Financial Accounting; Skills Boost - Preparation for Employment.
Care: Fast Track to HNC Police Studies; Fast Track to Health Care Practice (Level 6); Fast Track to HNC Care and Administrative Practice (Level 7).
Creative Industries: Skills Boost - Media and Communications; and Skills Boost - Cyber Awareness.
Hospitality: Skills Boost - Hospitality Refresher
Courses available under the collaboration at the other three colleges involved can be found on their websites.
Dr Ken Thomson, Principal of Forth Valley College, said: “We are delighted to be launching our specific range of courses in line with the innovative East Central Scotland Colleges Collaboration. We are confident they will be very popular in the Forth Valley area for those people who may have lost employment due to the pandemic and who are looking to retrain and upskill as soon as they can. Many of the courses start from January to March and we look forward to welcoming students in the new year.”
The Collaboration has developed a range of reskilling and upskilling course in order for colleges to provide much needed support to individuals and employers who are set to be hit by the economic downturn caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.
They include the creation of Skills Boost Academies in key areas such as digital and industry, and Accelerator Programmes (Fast Track), which will see colleges across Scotland offer accelerated versions of existing qualifications that are already on offer, such as engineering, computing and care. These innovative programmes will place the College sector at the forefront of the country’s agenda for economic recovery.
Each course has been launched by the four colleges alongside Skills Development Scotland (SDS) having analysed labour market information, unemployment rates, levels of furlough, growth sectors and the local knowledge each of the colleges have of their region.
It comes after the Scottish Government formally launched the Young Person's Guarantee recently which is designed to help those whose job prospects are set to be hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.
Each of the proposals closely align with the skills-related commitments set out in the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government and target areas that are seen as an economic priority for Scotland.
Dr Ken Thomson, Principal of Forth Valley College, added: “I am very excited about Forth Valley College’s involvement in the East Central Scotland College Collaboration initiative. By working together, we will have a really positive impact on the people who are, or who will be, affected most by the pandemic lockdown and the inevitable economic downturn that is starting to hit us.
“As a college, we have always been at the forefront of innovative programmes which meet the needs of both individuals and local and national skills agendas.
“Now, this new collaboration is enabling all four colleges involved to tap into each other’s expertise to provide the very best courses, professional training, upskilling, reskilling and opportunities.
"This is a chance to make learning work for the people of the Central Belt and the East of Scotland and help the country on the road to economic, educational and social recovery.”
You can find out more by visiting https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/reset