18
Ayrshire Engineering Forum and has made considerable progress in enhancing course provision
in this area, designed to take account of general and specific requirements such as CNC
programming which has been identified as an area of jobs growth in Ayrshire. The College is
also an active contributor and partner in the Energy Skills Partnership and has been successful
in receiving substantial contributions to staff development and resource requirements for this
important industry for Ayrshire. As we develop our employer engagement strategy, we will
consider whether there is a need to establish further skills forums for other industry sectors.
77.
Through Phase 1 of the Organisational Review during 2013-14, the College enhanced the staffing
resource to ensure that employer engagement receives the attention required. To track this
engagement effectively and ensure we use the information we gather effectively, the College has
invested in a relationship management system to ensure we join up all employer-related activity.
This will, for example, record which employers have been asked to provide work placements for
students and those who have provided these, businesses which have started apprentices or
offered work experience to students taking part in employability courses, and companies which
have been invited to participate in college engagement events.
78. will connect our own intelligence to that collated by others. For example, as a strategic
We
partner of Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, we are able to access its membership database
and, as a partner in Team North Ayrshire, we will be able to engage directly with its 190 account
managed companies. These resources will enable us to engage a larger and more diverse group
of employers in our annual self-evaluation and curriculum planning processes. It also enables us
to communicate our ‘ask’ of employers in relation to providing work placements for students,
Modern Apprenticeship places and work experience for unemployed young people on
Employability Fund courses.
Developing Ayrshire’s workforce
79.
Preparing people, particularly young people, to enter, remain and progress in employment
underpins everything that Ayrshire College does, and the College has a critical role to play in
developing the region’s young workforce. In addition, the College is emerging as the provider of
choice for skills support to enable employers across Ayrshire to develop their current workforce.
This support manifests itself in a variety of ways, for example helping young people develop the
employability skills that help improve their work readiness, supporting Modern Apprentices in a
range of industry sectors, providing well qualified students equipped with the skills demanded by
the workplace they enter, and offering bespoke training to develop existing employees.
80.
Ayrshire College engages with a wide range of employers in the private, public and third sectors.
The businesses we work with are diverse in terms of sector, size and location and we have
developed a range of engagement methods to support this diversity. Through ongoing
engagement with employers, business organisations and those leading on economic development
in the three CPPs, the College has rich intelligence on the skills needs of employers in the key
sectors identified as important to Ayrshire’s economy.
Ayrshire College Outcome Agreement 2014-17