Anniesland College
Showcase for Excellence
Excellent practice in delivering engineering programmes through
partnership working
Over recent years, the Department of Engineering has developed strong
partnerships with employers. These links have had a very positive impact on the
content and context of the curriculum, and the resulting education and training of
learners on engineering programmes. Senior staff and lecturers have responsibility
for liaison to ensure that the department works closely with employers to ensure that
programmes meet their needs. The design, content, context and learning
approaches for engineering programmes have been developed in conjunction with
employers to suit the needs of both employers and learners. This has involved
teaching staff in visits to employers’ premises to identify current and future skills and
knowledge needs. Learners have also contributed to developing, monitoring, and
evaluating their programmes, to improve the quality of content and delivery.
Examples of these employer partnerships include with
Rolls-Royce, and BAE Surface Ships.
The Rolls-Royce partnership has led to very high student retention and attainment
rates. Apprentices on this partnership programme have gained two prestigious
awards in the past 18 months, the Scottish Modern Apprentice Partnership Award,
and the National Training Awards Regional Partnership Award. Apprentices on
Rolls-Royce programmes have also received wider recognition through awards
including: the Prince Philip Prize; UK Skills; UK Women of the Future; Hammerman
Award; CraftEx; and SQA Star Award.
The BAE Surface Ships partnership has ensured, through regular meetings between
college staff and employer representatives, that the content and context for delivery
of the apprenticeship programme meet employer need for skilled apprentices, and
are able to deliver excellence in engineering manufacture. Each year the
programme has been updated to meet the changing needs of the company. The
success of the BAE Technician programme at Anniesland has been replicated in
other colleges with which BAE Surface Ships collaborates.