Forth Valley College engineers a big win in prestigious construction industry awards

The college received the prestigious Approved Training Provider of the Year title at the ECI Training and Development Awards, held at the Cutty Sark in London on last week.

Organised by the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB), the event brought together industry leaders, influencers and policymakers, as well as the

rising stars of tomorrow, at a ceremony hosted by engineer, broadcaster, teacher and STEM advocate, Kate Bellingham.

Forth Valley College (FVC) won its prize for a number of training initiatives, with judges agreeing it had achieved outstanding success in its delivery of the Oil and Gas

Technical Apprentice Programme over the past 12 years and could boast an exceptional 100 per cent transition rate for getting participants in the ECITB Scholarship

programme into employment.

It was also shown that FVC’s flexible “Train the Painter” initiative, developed in conjunction with esteemed industry partners, underscored the college’s unwavering

commitment to providing customised training solutions.

FVC’s dedication to nurturing a proficient, industry-prepared workforce through innovation and close collaboration with ECITB also earned it recognition at the awards

and contributed to the win.

Principal and chief executive Kenny MacInnes said: “I am absolutely delighted and so proud to lead an organisation that has delivered such excellent training. I myself

started as an apprentice, so to receive this award is full circle for me.

"To be principal of an organisation that’s been recognised for delivering such excellent training is just overwhelming. We’ve had such a long relationship with the ECITB.

"It’s fantastic to be recognised among our peers for delivering excellence working in close partnership for so long.”

Speaking at the awards, ECITB chief executive Andrew Hockey stated industry’s most valuable assets are its people, both those at the start of their journeys like the

scholars, apprentices and graduates honoured last night and those present “whose journeys have paved the way for those that follow”.

He added: “I would like to congratulate all the winners and finalists who are great examples of the success stories from across industry over the past year. They

exemplify the talent, innovation, resilience and endeavour that our industry holds in such high regard, setting standards to which we all aspire.”