Tuesday 1 September 2009
Engineers of the Future
Minister Discovers Engineers of the Future
Keith Brown, Minister for Schools and Skills, visited Forth Valley College recently to discover more about the innovative Engineers of the Future programme.
The visit was part of the Ministers' Summer Tour, during which he attends a number of colleges and universities to find out about the highlights of their academic year.
The Minister was especially interested in the ground-breaking Engineers of the Future programme, the first of its kind in Scotland. This five-year company-sponsored training programme has been specifically designed with industry in mind. It combines practical skills, work experience and academic study to Masters Degree Level and is a partnership between INEOS, Forth Valley College and Heriot-Watt University.
During his College visit, the Minister discovered how the award winning model was being delivered and learned about the plans of the partners to expand the model to encompass more businesses and students. Whilst taking a tour of the college's state- of-the-art training facilities - including a process training plant unique to Scotland - the Minister met with Billy Kane, INEOS' Youth Development Manager and the current group of future engineers in training.
Keith Brown, Minister for Schools and Skills, said: "The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring sustainable job opportunities for all those undertaking vocational training. That's why I am impressed by the highly innovative Engineers of the Future programme at Forth Valley College, which gives talented students the chance to take their education further and significantly improve their skills and employability. This is a sector-leading approach that I am sure other colleges and universities will be looking to learn from."
Linda McKay, Principal for Forth Valley College said: "It's been a pleasure to welcome the Minister and to discuss the Engineers of the Future programme with him. We are extremely proud of the training model and its integrated approach to learning. It responds to the needs of our partners in the business community and also the education sector as a whole. We believe this is the way forward for skills development in Scotland and beyond."
