West College Scotland has enjoyed a decade-long partnership with BAE Systems in Glasgow and in that time has provided vocational training to many staff and apprentices at the company’s shipbuilding facilities on the River Clyde.
In 2014-15 the College is training 25 first-year apprentices in a variety of skills, including fabrication, welding, sheet metal and engineering. This brings to more than fifty the total number of BAE Systems apprentices studying at West College Scotland, with second and third year apprentices on NC and HNC programmes. The company recently announced that it will increase its apprentice intake for 2015-16 with a further 105 apprentices.
Graeme Whiteford is Early Careers Manager at BAE Systems Naval Ships:
“When it comes to apprenticeships, our partners at West College Scotland have been instrumental in ensuring that the College environment is viewed by our apprentices as an extension to the workplace. That’s really important for us.
“West College Scotland have adopted a number of our working practices and safety procedures, invested in machinery and equipment consistent with that used in our yards and even installed company noticeboards within their facilities.
“The partnership works well for both parties with BAE Systems receiving excellent training and providing West College Scotland with a means by which it can develop its own staff by allowing them to visit and learn from industry.
“Most importantly, the partnership plays a key role in ensuring that apprentices are trained to the highest standards. “
I’m always impressed by the “can-do” attitude of the staff at West College Scotland. They are always engaged, willing to work in partnership and are responsive to our changing training needs. Importantly, they understand our business.
Andrew Foggarty is West College Scotland’s Head of Energy & Engineering:
“We are extremely proud of the quality of our training and our association with BAE Systems. It’s great to be able to give young people the skills they need to start out on a career in engineering but it’s also very satisfying to know we are providing the company with the highly-skilled, well-trained workforce it needs for the future.”
In addition training apprentices, the College provides Leadership, Project Management, Presentation Skills and Information Technology training in conjunction with BAE’s Business Project Management team.
Drew McHard is Project Management Capability and Resource manager at BAE Systems’ facility in Glasgow:
“I’m always impressed by the “can-do” attitude of the staff at West College Scotland. They are always engaged, willing to work in partnership and are responsive to our changing training needs. Importantly, they understand our business.
“The length and depth of our relationship with West College Scotland is evidence itself of how pleased we are with the consistently high quality of training provided by them.”
To see what the College can do for your business, contact us at corporate@wcs.ac.uk