West Highland College external review
Showcase for Excellence: Engagement with local communities
West Highland College UHI has established a network of ten learning centres across
a wide geographic area to meet the needs of the dispersed rural communities it
serves and to address the traditionally low uptake of further education in the West
Highlands. In order to ensure college provision meets the needs of local
communities, the college established CEG to support and guide the work of each of
its ten learning centres.
The college draws CEG membership from a range of sectors, including local
schools, public sector organisations, Skills Development Scotland, local businesses,
voluntary groups, churches, college learners, and staff. CEG members provide
useful stakeholder feedback on curriculum arrangements and developments in
relation to each learning centre. Learning centre managers and staff in each
location, work hard to develop productive relationships with local stakeholders
through the CEG. This has resulted in strengthened partnership working between
local agencies, shared arrangements for funding support, and delivery of training to
local businesses and community organisations. Locally-devised and delivered
programmes are successfully encouraging and easing access to learning. As a
result, there are several examples of learners progressing to certificated
programmes, having started on community programmes supported by the CEG.
Due to the work of the CEG, the college is able to use partner intelligence to
continuously review and adjust the range of programmes available from each of its
local centres. The college’s approach to gathering and using local intelligence has
resonance with the work of many colleges who are working to ensure that widely
varying needs within regions are addressed.