Continuing to Deliver on Our Strategic Ambition

It’s been another busy few weeks at Ayrshire College with a host of exciting events happening across our campuses. These events demonstrate how Ayrshire College is continuing to deliver on our new Strategic Ambition (2024-2027) and our ambition of ‘enabling learning which provides our people with the skills to be successful and our economy to thrive.’

Tom Arthur MSP, Minister for Employment and Investment, attended the ‘Making and Keeping the £ in Ayrshire’ event held at the Willie Mackie Skills Hub at our Kilwinning Campus. He joined leaders in business, public services and community organisations from across Ayrshire.

Ayrshire College is a key partner in the Ayrshire Regional Economic Strategy (RES) and we were proud to host this gathering to reflect on the progress of Scotland’s first regional economic strategy to embed Community Wealth Building as a foundation for sustainable, community-led economic growth.  

Through its role in the Regional Economic Strategy, the College provides critical support across several priority areas:  

• Skills Development and Training: Ayrshire College’s programmes equip students and apprentices with hands-on experience and pathways into employment. With our emphasis on sustainable technology and advanced manufacturing, we prepare the local workforce with skills to support growth and innovation.  

• Industry Partnerships: Collaboration with local businesses allows Ayrshire College to meet regional needs. The College aligns its programmes with employer demands, making skills development accessible and impactful for the wider Ayrshire community.  

• Community Wealth Building: Supporting the RES vision, Ayrshire College empowers local talent to contribute meaningfully to Ayrshire’s economy, preparing students for roles that build community wealth and sustainability.  

We were delighted to welcome the Commissioner for Widening Access, Professor John McKendrick, to our Kilwinning Campus. We discussed his annual report and the Scottish Government’s response to his recommendations.

In partnership with Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, we brought together more than 40 senior and aspiring leaders from across Ayrshire for a Women’s Leadership Lunch at the Westerly Restaurant on our Ayr Campus.

Attendees heard from Jacqueline Dobson, President of Barrhead Travel, who shared her experiences in the travel industry. Guests were treated to a fantastic three-course lunch which was planned, cooked and served by our outstanding hospitality students.

We also welcomed Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes who visited the College’s Aeronautical Engineering Training Centre, where we showcased our pivotal role in building a skilled workforce to support Scotland’s aerospace industry and beyond.

The College currently supports over 1,300 apprentices, with nearly 500 in engineering disciplines. This approach aligns with our goal of addressing skills shortages and strengthening local economies by preparing students for long-term careers in high-demand fields.  

We discussed the College’s initiatives in skills development, digital innovation, and industry partnerships. Through our industry-aligned facilities, including a training hangar and teaching centre at Prestwick Airport, we continue to make significant investments across our aeronautical offerings, strengthening our position as a national leader in aerospace education.

Our hospitality students took over the Scottish Parliament MSP restaurant and planned, cooked and served an outstanding meal! There was not a spare seat to be had with MSPs commenting on the standard and quality of the food.

We recently hosted partners at a 5G Innovation Region Event In November last year, Ayrshire was one of two regions in Scotland to receive £3.7million of funding from the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), transforming it into a region with new cutting-edge 5G and advanced wireless technologies. 

The event was a showcase to highlight some of the projects and work that has been carried out since the funding was provided.

At the recent College Development Network Awards, our Building Future Pathways project was the winner in the Health and Wellbeing category. The project was a 14-week trauma-informed practice (TIP) based course led by the Hairdressing, Beauty, Complementary Therapies and Makeup Artistry (HBCM) department. It was targeted at learners at SCQF level 3/4 students who required a more flexible, personalised and nurturing approach to reach their full potential. It ran as a pilot from February until June to best support learners who were not ready for an August enrolment date.  

We also took home a Highly Commended award in the Employer Connection category recognising the strength of our relationship with new high voltage subsea cabling manufacturer XLCC. 

We hosted the DWY Innovation showcase, and I was delighted to present on the College’s role in working collaboratively with partners to deliver on these projects and to talk about our future focus in key sectors of interest for the Ayrshire region.

In short, it’s been another busy period for the College as 2024 draws to a close, with staff working as hard as ever to deliver on our interrelated objectives of #OutstandingExperiences #PartnerofChoice #EnablingtheFuture

On to our Christmas Parties now!