Engaging with EMPLOYERS
Making Your Business
our Business
AT AYRSHIRE COLLEGE WE
WANT TO BE THE TRAINING
PARTNER OF CHOICE FOR
LOCAL EMPLOYERS. WE
WORK WITH BUSINESSES
TO UNDERSTAND THEIR
NEEDS TO MAXIMISE THEIR
POTENTIAL AND PROVIDE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR
STUDENTS – THEIR FUTURE
WORKFORCE. BY WORKING
IN PARTNERSHIP, WE ENSURE
EMPLOYERS HAVE ACCESS
TO THE RIGHT SKILLS IN THE
RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT
TIME.
In February 2014, at our
inaugural annual business dinner,
we launched our Making Your
Business Our Business approach
for engaging with employers.
Two years on, we summarised
this approach in our Making Your
Business Our Business strategy
which describes how we will
continue to work with the
business community to achieve
their aspirations.
Employers at our most recent
business dinner spoke positively
about how we make their
business our business.
Willie Kennedy, Director at
William Kennedy Plumbers Ltd,
28
said “I started my career as a
plumbing apprentice. At the age
of 23 years, I started my own
plumbing business and I now
employ 27 people. It’s important
to have the right people on my
team so I work with the college
to recruit new apprentices every
year. Most of my staff have
trained at the college.”
Margarette Bryan, Retail Sales
Manager at Moobrook Textiles
Limited BEGG SCOTLAND said
“We engage with the college
in a variety of ways to provide
opportunities for students. As
a world leading manufacturer
of cashmere, we provide the
fashion students with a creative
brief and samples of cashmere
to inspire their imaginations and
create exciting fashion designs.
We also arrange a factory tour
so they can see how cashmere
is made from the yarn to the
finished pieces.”
The College’s approach to
employer engagement has
been recognised by being
shortlisted in the Outstanding
Employer Engagement category
at forthcoming Herald Higher
Education Awards in July 2016.
The magazine of Ayrshire College
Sharing our work with
the rest of Europe
British Council showcased the
College’s approach to employer
engagement in its most recent
Vocational Education Exchange
magazine.
Sharing our work with
the college sector
Stuart Millar has lead
responsibility for employer
engagement at the College and
hosted a workshop on collegeemployer partnerships at the
College Development Network
Emporium Finale on Friday
17 June. You can see Stuart’s
presentation here: