Gold and bronze for Dan and Jordan
Two Edinburgh College apprentices lifted trophies at a national skills competition this week, toppling UK rivals as they painted, decorated and crafted their way to success. Continue reading Edinburgh College apprentices win medals at UK Skills Show
Edinburgh College construction training awards celebrate student achievement
Edinburgh College’s construction department raised the roof as students who have proved they are built of the right stuff were celebrated at the college’s annual training awards. Continue reading College construction students raise the roof!
Before the paint has even dried, The Botanic Cottage is in the running for a national award …
The Botanic Cottage at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has been nominated for Best Georgian Garden/Landscape at The Georgian Society’s prestigious annual Architectural Awards – before it has even opened its doors! Continue reading Reconstructed Botanic Cottage up for national award
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT – #VOTEGYC
We promised you big news – and here it is! We’re delighted to announce that Granton Youth Centre is one of the finalists for the RBS Skills and Opportunities Funding. Continue reading Granton Youth Centre needs your help!
GYC Annual General Meeting
Friday 25 September
1.30pm for 2pm start.
Please find attached calling notice for our AGM and Annual Youth Work Celebration (see below).
This year’s celebration will again include staff and young people presenting work completed and achievements gained, we look forward to seeing you there!
RSVP – wendy@grantonyouth.com
Industry award rekindles memories of Muirhouse accident
Last month, Urban Union’s Pennywell Living housing development received a silver award from The Considerate Constructors Scheme at the annual Scottish Considerate Constructors event held in the capital.
The Considerate Constructors Scheme is an initiative introduced by the construction industry to improve and enhance relations with communities where building works are taking place.
The Scheme encourages sites to adopt best practices beyond what is outlined in statutory requirements with the main areas focusing on impact on the general public, workforce and the environment.
In itself, the award is not earth-shattering news – these kind of industry awards are usually seen as shindigs, a jolly opportunity for companies, organisations and their clients to get together to slap each other on the back. BAFTAs for business, if you like.
But Urban Union’s award for their construction practices rekindled memories of a dreadful accident that happened just yards from today’s Urban Union site sixteen years ago this month.
On 10 August 1999 brother and sister Danielle (5)and William Welsh (6) died when they were run over by a lorry which was removing rubbish from a construction site behind Pennywell shops.
Danielle and William were playing outside their granny’s Muirhouse Crescent home when Danielle told her grandmother, Catherine Welsh, that she had found a 50p piece and was going to the shops. Mrs Welsh called them back, but they ran off towards the shopping centre, crossing a grassy bank on to an access road.
Construction work was taking place at the time, and as a lorry passed between a building and the grassy bank, the children ran in front of it. There was nothing the driver could do – it was later ascertained that the lorry’s speed was no more than five miles per hour – but the children ‘froze’ in front of the lorry and died in a horrific accident.
I remember the scene vividly – it was one of the first jobs I covered for NEN and I’ll never forget the anguished look on people’s faces as they took in what had happened on their doorstep.
While no one individual or organisation was found to be responsible for the tragedy, lessons were learned – albeit at an unacceptably awful cost – and safety standards have improved on construction sites. The Considerate Constructors Scheme is one example of this.
The Urban Union development in Pennywell was reviewed in five categories: appearance, respecting the local community, protecting the environment, safety and valuing its workforce. It received the silver award as it was deemed to have excelled across all five areas, since its launch last summer.
Urban Union’s mananging director Graeme Nicol said: “We are all delighted with this recognition from the Considerate Constructors Scheme. Our construction manager Brian Pettigrew and his team take great pride in delivering the Pennywell Living project to the highest standard.
“Most recently, as part of our commitment to the local community, a team of employees and our Urban Union mascot Ivor Goodsite, visited Craigroyston Primary School to teach pupils all about the different types of plant machinery and safety on site. This is an example of the work we do to ensure the local community is aware of the work going on, on their doorstep.”
So sometimes, industry awards really are something we all can celebrate. Congratulations, Urban Union.
Investors in Young People award for ProjectScotland
ProjectScotland, the charity which helps young people to get on in life through volunteering, has been awarded the Investors in Young People accreditation, a new award created by Investors in People Scotland in partnership with the Scottish Government.
The accolade recognises employers for their recruitment and retention of young people in the work place. With a quarter of ProjectScotland staff (above) under 25 the award further cements ProjectScotland’s ethos and commitment to developing young people.
Congratulating the charity on their award, Minister for Youth and Women’s Employment Annabelle Ewing said: “I would like to congratulate ProjectScotland on achieving the new Investors in Young People accreditation. ProjectScotland recognise the benefits of recruiting and developing young people and that it is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.
“Employers have a crucial role to play in supporting youth employment in Scotland and the new Investors in Young People framework and accolade offers help and recognition which will encourage more employers to do that.”
Paul Reddish, CEO of ProjectScotland, said: “We are very proud of our Investors in Young People award. As a charity we offer 16 – 30 year olds a three month volunteering opportunity, allowing them to learn new skills and gain valuable experience while giving back to society as we believe that young people have the talent to transform their lives and the communities around them. That’s why here at ProjectScotland young people are a big part of our work force and we aim for this to not only continue but grow.
“This award acknowledges that we are investing in young people and it’s great to see the Scottish Government and Investors in People recognising our achievements.”
People management specialists, Investors in People selected a sample of employees from ProjectScotland to discuss various aspects of their role, the organisation and training as well as reviewing how the charity attracts, recruits and retains young people.
Ewan Hunter, Investor in People Specialist said: “ProjectScotland has a great ethos and are very well connected to the whole ‘Young People’ agenda. They have a clear understanding of the importance of employing and developing young people and the enormous benefits to both the employer and the young person.
“I would like to commend them and congratulate them on their award and achievements. We look forward to working with ProjectScotland as they continue the excellent work they do in this vital part of Scotland’s economy.”
Edinburgh College has been named as a finalist in three categories in the prestigious Green Gown Awards, which celebrate sustainability initiatives in the education sector.
Now in their 11th year, the Green Gown Awards recognise the exceptional sustainability initiatives being undertaken by universities, colleges and the learning and skills sectors across the UK.
The local college is shortlisted for the following awards:
The college is up against other colleges and universities from across the UK, and is the only college to be recognised in the Student Engagement and Facilities and Services categories.
Martin Webb, Edinburgh College sustainability officer, said: “We are thrilled to be acknowledged for the progress made to embed sustainability within the college infrastructure and curriculum. We are early on our journey towards achieving the aims of our wider sustainability strategy, but our small enthusiastic team are committed to improving co-ordination, facilitation and promotion of Edinburgh College’s sustainability efforts.”
With sustainable development moving up the global agenda, the awards are now established as the most prestigious recognition of sustainability excellence within the tertiary education sector, as well as the environmental sector.
The Awards ceremony will be held in Bristol, European Green Capital for 2015, on 27 November.
Picture (top): Sustainability officer Martin Webb and Community Garden coordinator Severine Monvoisin in the Sighthill Community Garden.
College events shortlisted for prestigious Scottish Event Awards
An Edinburgh College school-engagement event and two student-led projects have grabbed places on the hotly contested shortlist for prizes at the Scottish Event Awards.
The college has been nominated for the Best Educational Event for an event held to engage local schools, particularly head teachers, and increase opportunities for young people. And two teams of talented Events Management students picked up nominations for the Best Student Event Award.
The Scottish Event Awards honour the best events of various types across a range of sectors. They are run by magazine and marketing website The Drum.
The college’s Schools Event welcomed head teachers and other representatives from 34 local schools, who heard about some of the college’s key projects, its curriculum offering and how it is creating new vocational learning and progression opportunities, and spoke to key staff from each of the college’s curriculum centres. It was warmly received by attendees, and will form the basis for future partnership working between the college and local schools.
Two groups of BA (Hons) Events Management students made the shortlist for events held as part of their course.
One team, Icon Events, organised a fashion show featuring people with dementia as models to raise funds for Alzheimer Scotland. Service users, carers, staff and volunteers at the charity’s Fife Dementia Resource Centre in Kirkcaldy strutted the catwalk as models at the event, which raised more than £700 for the charity.
Another team, Festival Events, organised a sell-out mini fringe festival at the Voodoo Rooms, featuring a variety of musical acts and a magician. The team raised £2,200 for Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland.
Teams of students from Events Management courses organised 38 events this year, raising more than £20,000 for a range of charities.
This year’s nominations follow the college’s win in the Best Educational Event category last year for the Graphic Design Industry Night, a one-night event that showcased graduates’ award winning design work, and celebrated Edinburgh College’s close ties with industry.
This event allowed young designers to get face to face time with potential future employers. Due to the success of the first event last year, this has been made an annual event, and this year’s was held at the Fruitmarket Gallery as part of Let’s Glow.
The awards take place at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Wednesday 7 October.
Four Edinburgh College design students have won commendations in the Young Creative Network (YCN) Student Awards, which celebrate creative excellence.
The students, who are all on the first year of the HND Visual Communication: Graphic Design, competed against students from around Europe and from second-year HND and degree courses.
The YCN Student Awards shine a light on emerging creative excellence from leading universities, colleges and art and design schools in Europe and North America. Students are given live creative briefs from a range of partnering organisations.
Liam Henderson and Aiste Piechaviciute won for their entry for the brief set by drinks brand J2O. They were asked to redesign J2O to become more appealing to adults, while bringing through the brand’s personality and communicating the key message that the juice is a blend of two fruit juices.
Liam and Aiste approached the brief by producing designs inspired by J2O’s play on the chemical formula H2O, under the title ‘the element of…’. So, orange and passionfruit juice became OgPa, and apple and mango ApMg, with the tag line ‘life is an experiment, so live it’.
Annabel Gibb and Kirsten Bell also received commendations for the submission for a brief from Topdeck travel. They were tasked with presenting the travel company’s trips to a UK audience, to make 18-30s consider trips they may not usually consider.
Annabel and Kirsten were inspired by the company’s tag line #livelikealocal, and produced designs for posters that juxtaposed photos of the usual tourist haunts, such as the Eiffel Tower and the Parthenon, with the side streets and cafes that mean more to locals. They also came up with a design concept for a Topdeck app, paired with crosses to be placed on the pavements outside local people’s favourite places as a play on ‘x marks the spot’.
Helena Good, design lecturer at the college, said: “I am delighted with our students’ success in the YCN Awards. This is a real achievement, given that they were competing directly with final-year degree students. The professional quality of the work they have produced is testament to their skills and I look forward to watching them continue to develop through the second year of the course.”
The students’ work will feature in the YCN Student Annual, with 15,000 copies distributed across education and creative industries organisations internationally. They will be presented with their awards at a ceremony in London this September.
