Hard work pays off at South Lanarkshire College thanks to close links with industry

“The pandemic tested us all in every aspect of our lives – we had to find new ways of living and working,” she explains.

“Despite the year it has been, our learners and staff have absolutely risen to the challenge.”

Principal Aileen McKechnie

The East Kilbride-based college which has around 5000 students on 200 courses across Business, Construction and Care Faculties, is celebrating this week, having been nominated in the Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges category at The Herald Education Awards for its Upskilling Lanarkshire’s Carers project.

The bespoke project is a collaboration with South Lanarkshire Council to train care sector employees, critically important in the current climate.

South Lanarkshire College has also been awarded £149k to retrain and upskill people to access ‘green’ jobs in the growing insulation industry. The funding, from SSE Renewables and Clyde Wind Farm (Scotland) Ltd, will help provide additional expert staff to train students in the purpose-built Insulation Training Centre.

The College is one of only two in Scotland to be named as Gender Based Violence pilot institutions for the charter created by EmilyTest, a Scottish charity working to improve prevention, intervention and support concerning GBV in further and higher education.

“We operate a zero-tolerance approach to all instances of gender-based violence and have been incredibly proactive in undertaking work in this area to create a safe college environment for all our staff and students,” says Ms McKechnie. “This work has also extended into the wider community through our participation in local events and activities.”

Recent student success stories at South Lanarkshire College include Ellie Turner, a Professional Cookery student who came second in the Student Watercress challenge by Passion To Inspire, which attracted 52 entries from 18 colleges UK-wide; and Level 6 Professional Cookery student, Jodie McKenna, who secured a place in the final of the Zest Quest Asia Tilda Challenge, the national student culinary competition run by the Master Chefs of Great Britain.

Anna Sanina has set up her own successful chocolate business since studying the College’s evening Introduction to Chocolate Course; and Sharon Robertson McCurdy, HNC hairdressing student, has secured a place in the National finals of the Wella Xposure UK competition, which will take place in London in October.

“Our students have really stepped up,” says Ms McKechnie. “They have not only remained engaged and motivated, but in this toughest of years learners across the whole school, college and university sector have worked very hard to push themselves and to succeed at a national and international level.

“The ambition has remained, not just to pass exams and achieve qualifications, but to ask – how do I excel? How do I showcase my skills?”

Ms McKechnie adds: “That is very powerful. A narrative has built up about a ‘wasted’ year, or a ‘lost’ generation – but that narrative is wrong.”

Lord McConnell is pictured with Principal Aileen McKechnie and students taking part in the college’s upskilling projects

One of the biggest challenges last March was having to quickly adjust to new methods of teaching and learning. The College put a raft of support measures in place, from delivering laptops and wi fi equipment to students at home to tackle digital poverty to providing e-resources, running comprehensive mental health and wellbeing programmes online, and keeping the campus open throughout both lockdowns.

“The shift was incredibly fast-paced, but the staff were phenomenal,” says Ms McKechnie.

“It is very different, teaching in front of screen, when you are used to standing in front of a class. We introduced innovative practices, such as new ‘huddle’ cameras, where a tutor teaching a reduced-size class in the College would broadcast it to students at home, allowing them to feel more connected.

“We made sure we worked the system on a rota basis, so that all students could come on to the campus at some point, to feel like a ‘proper’ student.

“The academic qualifications matter, of course, but the social connections and fun side of college are so important too.”

It was not just teaching staff who rose to the occasion, emphasises Ms McKechnie.

“Our business support teams have all been incredible, Student Services, HR and finance teams quickly adapted to remote working whilst still providing support to students and staff, our cleaning and building supervisor staff have been fantastic, and of course, our IT staff were incredible, tackling the challenges of digital learning and an increased focus on cyber security,” she explains.

“Remote and blended learning can leave people feeling disconnected and as we worked hard to maintain morale and motivation, never losing sight of the health and wellbeing of the whole College community. We had to be flexible and responsive, connecting differently and communicating well.”

She adds: “I want to recognise the hard work and dedication of all my staff, who have shown such resilience and genuine fortitude in face of a huge challenge, I’m very proud of them all.”

Ms McKechnie also paid tribute to South Lanarkshire College’s Student Association, and in particular its President Gemma McClarence and Vice President Charlotte McDonald.

“I’m really proud of everything they achieved,” she adds. “They were new to the roles last year, and it cannot have been easy to take the helm at such a difficult time, but they worked enormously hard to find creative ways to engage with students.

“They ran everything from digital mindfulness sessions to virtual Friday lunches, kitchen discos and yoga.”

Reflecting on a year of supporting the wider South Lanarkshire community, Ms McKechnie says the focus is now on rebuilding and strengthening local businesses through skills-led recovery.

“We want to really focus on industry engagement, how we create a more resilient workforce with better skills as we emerge, post-Covid into a world that has changed significantly,” she says.

“We will be shaping our curriculum and looking at our business model to ensure we are at the heart of the social and economic recovery of the region.

“It is a positive end to a difficult year.”

This article appears as part of The Herald's The Future Of Education campaign, in association with South Lanarkshire College.

If you would like to become a partner in our Future of Education Series, contact Stephen McDevitt, Head of Digital and Branded Content campaign@heraldandtimes.co.uk