With more than 3,000 staff, Inverclyde Council is one of the largest employers in the west of Scotland. Its huge scale means it’s always looking to improve the skills of its workforce, ensuring they have the training they need to provide the best services to the people of Inverclyde.
The Council also recognises it has an important role in delivering training more widely, to encourage economic development and make Inverclyde attractive to business.
This is where its partnership with West College Scotland comes in. Together, over the years we have worked to design the courses which have helped build and sustain a motivated and well-trained workforce.
The most common course the College delivers is the CMI (Chartered Management Institute) First Line Manager qualification. This programme, run annually, is for supervisors who have operational responsibilities for specific areas of the business. It’s designed to give them the communications and motivational skills to grow their part of the business. Our flexible approach means Council staff attend “twilight” classes at College 1 day a week for twelve weeks.
Elspeth Tierney, Facilities Manager at Inverclyde Council:
“No business can afford to stand still. This is as true for local authorities as it is for private businesses.
Inverclyde Council have an established, long-term relationship with West College Scotland which over the years has benefited the development of hundreds of our staff.
“Inverclyde Council have an established, long-term relationship with West College Scotland which over the years has benefited the development of hundreds of our staff. As a council, we know better than anybody the economic and employability challenges facing Inverclyde and nobody is working harder to meet them.”
In July 2014, the West College Scotland delivered a new course in construction and engineering to council janitors and the College and council are hoping to expand this training in the years ahead.
Elspeth continues:
“It’s great to have a college like West College Scotland to work with. Their range of courses, the level of expertise and their ability to respond quickly to our training needs all provide tremendous value for us as employers, as well as for our workforce.”
To see what the College can do for your business, contact us at corporate@wcs.ac.uk