New engineers, fabricators and welders celebrate achievements

A celebration event to mark the achievements of recent Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) funded engineering courses took place on the afternoon of Friday 29 May at Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus.

FVC’s Director of Curriculum in the Department of STEM and Construction, Mhairi Hay, hosted the event in the Antonine Suite and welcomed guests from ESP including Dougie Knox, Carlene Cura and Greg Haylott. 

Students who completed the NC Fabrication and Welding and the Access to Engineering courses gathered to receive recognition for their hard work and to find out who had won the four awards on offer for outstanding achievement during the year. This year, both groups benefitted from extra funding awarded through the ESP Scottish Government Offshore Wind Project, designed to recruit and deliver additional training and qualifications to support the offshore wind sector and its supply chain, whilst upskilling college staff and students to help address skills shortages in the industry. 

The funding has enabled the NC Fabrication and Welding and Access to Engineering courses to be enhanced through the addition of Performing Engineering Operations (PEO) units, further enhancing the learners’ practical skills and employability.   

Winners were:

Most Improved Student in NC Fabrication and Welding – Micah Blue

Most Promising Student in NC Fabrication and Welding - Benjamin Harrison

Most Improved Student in Access to Engineering – CJay Allan

Most Promising Student in Access to Engineering – Marcin Strzeszniewski

Des McCabe, Curriculum Manager in the Department of STEM and Construction, said: 

“I would like to say a big thank you to all the group, and staff, for the work they have put into the course this year. There has been a lot of hard graft and all the learners in the group have done brilliantly to keep it going throughout the year. It’s been great to see how much the group have all come on since they started in August. Massive congratulations to Benjamin and Micah to be recognised by the staff delivering the course for their awards. Thank you also to Dougie, Carlene and Greg at ESP for awarding us the additional funding and allowing the course to be what it came to be. It has been highly successful, with six learners gaining employment with Babcock in Rosyth and many others going onto positive destinations and working towards a career in Fabrication and Welding.”

ESP (Energy Skills Partnership) is the college sector agency in Scotland for energy transition, zero carbon transport, engineering, construction and STEM. They lead on the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plans for the college sector working in partnership with Government, agencies and industry to meet national and regional skills needs, maximising investment and job opportunities aligned with emerging technologies, the Climate Emergency and the Just Transition to Net Zero.

Dougie Knox, Strategic Partnership Manager, Energy Skills Partnership (ESP)

“It is fantastic to see the achievements of these learners and the positive impact that this funding has had in enhancing their skills and employment opportunities. Through our partnership with Forth Valley College and support from the Scottish Government, we are helping to develop the skilled workforce needed to support Scotland’s growing offshore wind sector and wider energy transition. Congratulations to all of the learners on their hard work and success, and we wish them every success in their future careers.”