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CR>You’re a strong advocate of the community based college system. How does it work?
BL> To demonstrate the dynamics of the community based college programme it is worth looking at the example of North Carolina. The area, previously famed for its tobacco farming, had been hit hard by the declining tobacco industry. The State therefore targeted opportunities in a new industry – namely, bio and life sciences – and created facilities for the industry, similar to Edinburgh’s BioQuarter development. The state legislators approached the community colleges who identified the skills needed to service the industry and created courses specifically for them. The state then funded the necessary infrastructure requirements and a new workforce was trained using local talent. With Edinburgh recognised as a major player in similar sectors, the city’s colleges, in conjunction with each other and the industries themselves, have a major opportunity to embrace and develop a similar approach.
CR>What steps would Stevenson College Edinburgh need to take in order to implement the scheme?
BL> We have already commissioned work to investigate the growing engineering and renewable energy sectors in order to offer students future working opportunities within them. With the community based system fully adopted we would have City of Edinburgh Council and local businesses supporting us to provide the necessary resources to ensure we could service those industries fully. We would also wish to collaborate with all of Edinburgh’s academic establishments – schools, colleges and universities – to ensure we are offering the most appropriate courses for the city’s workforce. By working closely with agencies such as Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland we can ensure we are not only servicing local markets but national and international audiences as well.
CR> We’ve seen the rebirth in popularity of vocational studies and Modern Apprenticeships. Why do you think this interest has been rekindled?
BL> It’s an understanding of skills needed. In early 2000, the academic approach was seen as being best for providing the needs of the growing service industries. However, it was soon recognised that the expanding manufacturing, construction and new technology developments in countries such as India, China and the Gulf States needed skilled workers to support them. These skilled graduates would be immediately ready for employment, whereas graduates from more academic studies need further ‘on-the-job’ training once employed. The technical term is ‘skills utilisation’ and Stevenson College Edinburgh is working with Adam Smith College in Fife and the Scottish Funding Council in an exciting project to further progress our ability to deliver ‘job ready’ individuals.
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