Tag: Edinburgh College

Call for Capital’s sustainable food projects to sign up to new directory

Edinburgh’s sustainable food producers and suppliers are being called upon to apply to have their details registered in a new directory.  

The Sustainable Food Directory is designed to help people find out where they can source sustainable food locally and to support the promotion of the capital as a leading food destination in Scotland. 

Managed by Edible Edinburgh, and supported by the City of Edinburgh Council, the directory will aim to showcase the best places to find local, sustainable food in Edinburgh, for residents and visitors.

Local food growing projects, community food organisations, shops, markets, cafes and restaurants are all being asked to apply to become part of the directory – with the aim of gaining recognition as  the most sustainable food places in the city.

Applicants are being asked to complete a short form, detailing why they should be included in the directory, along with a sustainability statement outlining how they’re actively working towards sustainability in their services; supply chain, packaging and recycling.

Councillor George Gordon, Chair of Edible Edinburgh, said: As a food partnership, we want to promote the breadth of sustainable, healthy, local food choices on offer to residents and visitors to Scotland’s capital city. Food that’s grown locally has less distance to travel to get to our plate, meaning less carbon emissions from things like transportation and storage. 

“We know that Edinburgh’s amazing local food and drink producers work hard to bring high quality, sustainably produced food to people’s plates. So, we’re calling on sustainable food businesses, growers, suppliers and producers in the city to apply to be listed on our new directory, highlighting their business action and ambition, to make it easier for people to support local food producers, shops and communities in Edinburgh.”

The project to create a Sustainable Food Directory was announced as part of Edible Edinburgh’s Inspiring Food event at Edinburgh College Granton Campus on Friday.

The college event promoted some of Edinburgh’s leading food businesses, charities, growing projects and pantries.

Business can find out more about the directory and how to register by emailing Edible Edinburgh on hello@edible-edinburgh.org.

The directory is scheduled to go live to the public in early summer.

Scottish Parliament marks minority ethnic ‘emerging leaders’’ success

Thirteen ‘emerging leaders’ from the Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) staff were recognised yesterday at a certification event hosted by the Presiding Officer.

The staff were the first group to attend a new course created by Edinburgh College and the Scottish Association of Minority Ethnic Educators (SAMEE). The course supports minority ethnic employees in achieving their full potential now and in the future.

The scheme also aims to ensure the Parliamentary Service more closely reflects Scotland’s population by developing existing minority ethnic talent within the organisation.

While the 2021 election saw a more diverse group of MSPs elected, diversity monitoring within the Parliament as an employer found an ethnicity pay gap caused by a lack of minority ethnic staff in more senior positions.

Speaking after the certification event, Presiding Officer, Alison Johnstone MSP said: “Diversity matters, and I am proud to recognise the achievements of our first intake of colleagues participating in this innovative and progressive scheme.

“I am very pleased to encourage them as they advance their careers at the heart of Scottish public life.”

Find further details about the emerging leaders scheme.

Public sector initiatives benefit from Business Stream’s Water Efficiency Fund

Edinburgh-based water retailer Business Stream has delivered nearly £100,000 of funding to nine public sector initiatives, including two in the capital through its annual Public Sector Scotland (PSS) Water Efficiency Fund.

The fund is part of a commitment made by the company to support public bodies across Scotland to deliver water efficiency projects designed to deliver environmental and financial savings.

One of this year’s successful candidates is Edinburgh Council, which will use the funds to purchase portable flow meters to help proactively manage water use at its sites and help drive a business case for purchasing additional automatic meter reading (AMR) equipment.

The Council will also commission a project to install urinal controls at one of the Local Authority’s secondary schools to help reduce water wastage and increase efficiency.

Edinburgh College also received funding, which it will use to undertake a full water efficiency audit at one of its sites to help identify water conservation solutions to help reduce overall consumption levels.

In addition to providing the funding, Business Stream will also support the delivery of each project.

Chief Executive of Business Stream, Jo Dow said: “As a responsible business, we are passionate about reducing our impact on the environment and helping our customers to do the same. It’s fantastic to be able to offer this fund to public sector bodies that are committed to reducing their water use and generating environmental savings.

“The judging panel members were incredibly impressed with the ingenuity of the applications and we’re now looking forward to supporting these projects to help deliver environmental and, in many cases, financial benefits too.”

A spokesperson from the Scottish Procurement Utilities team added: “Scottish Procurement and Property acknowledges the Business Stream approach to pro-active water management.

“The annual Water Efficiency Fund has identified projects which will deliver water resource savings and education opportunities. The Water Efficiency Fund supports the opportunity to reduce water consumption and provide financial savings for public sector customers of the ‘Water and Waste Water Framework.’”

The fund allocation process was overseen by a judging panel comprising representatives from Business Stream, the Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC), public sector bodies and Scottish Procurement.

In 2021, Business Stream announced that it has saved Scotland’s public sector over £1 million in water costs during the first year of its three-year contract. Just under £1.4 million of savings were delivered to the sector through the retailer’s efficiency measures, helping to save 885 million litresof water in the process – the equivalent of 354 Olympic sized swimming pools.

Edinburgh College appoints two new Board members

Edinburgh College’s Board of Management has appointed two new non-executive members to support it in leading the strategic direction of the College.

The new members are experienced figures in Scottish public life and have an extensive background in digital, data analytics and IT infrastructure, within the private sector. The new Board members are former Chief Executive Officer of Vianet Group PLC. Stewart Darling and Kerry McCormack, Head of IT at First Sentier Investors.

As Chief Executive Officer of Vianet Group PLC, Stewart Darling led the transformation of the business from a service provider to a technology company, and established new revenue streams that delivered multiple years of growth which saw the value of the business double as it became a leading player in the Internet of Things and data analytics industry.  

Stewart has also served as a Non-Executive Director of the governing body for golf in Scotland.

Kerry McCormack is an experienced IT professional, leading a Global IT team at First Sentier Investors. Prior to taking up the Global Head of IT role in 2018, Kerry had joined First Sentier Investors as an Application Developer in 2001 before progressing to become a member of the IT Leadership team.

Kerry has been involved in a broad range of global strategic projects reflecting her specialist IT knowledge and experience of the investment management industry.

Interim Chair of Edinburgh College’s Board of Management Ann Landels said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to welcome Stewart and Kerry to their new roles. Both have a vast wealth of experience in both digital and IT infrastructure, as well as strong links within important areas of our curriculum.

“Their respective experiences and skillsets will serve the College and the Board well as we aim to continue maximising experiences and opportunities for all of our students.”

Edinburgh College Principal Audrey Cumberford said: “I am delighted to welcome Stewart and Kerry to the Board of Management as we work to achieve our ambitions for the future.

“Their industry experience and knowledge and, in particular, expertise in the use of technology will undoubtably support the College in delivering for our students, communities, local businesses, and employers at a time when using technology to develop new ways of working and learning have never been more pertinent.

“The depth and breadth of experience of our Board is hugely important and I look forward to working with our new members.” 

Find out more about the Edinburgh College Board of Management.

Find out how to access free professional training for employees with Edinburgh College


Businesses have the opportunity to learn about free professional training available for their staff at an information event hosted by Edinburgh College later this month.

The College is hosting the event both online and in-person at its Sighthill Campus from 8.30am with the aim of showcasing training opportunities available to SMEs and large companies through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF). 

The information event, taking place on Thursday 24 February 2022, will see business delegates learn about the FWDF from Edinburgh College’s Business Development Advisors, as well as meeting expert lecturers who will discuss the range of subjects available to businesses and employees.    

Attendees will also hear from Tracey Bork, Head of People at Lothian Buses, about her experience of applying for fully funded training with Edinburgh College. 

If delegates cannot attend in person, the College is streaming the presentations and interview taking place during the event via Microsoft Teams. 

A link for the live stream and joining instructions will be available soon after registering for the event. Online delegates will have the opportunity to ask questions through a Q&A function within Teams.  

The College encourages anyone who intends to attend the event in person to take a lateral flow COVID-19 test before they arrive.  

The Flexible Workforce Development Fund, offered by the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council, facilitated by Scottish colleges, offers larger organisations and SMEs, across the private, public and third sectors, an opportunity to apply for fully funded training for their teams.   

The funding provides SMEs with up to £5,000 of free training; and larger employers (those with an annual payroll bill of £3m+) with up to £15,000 of free training. 

To register your attendance either in person or online, please book via the Edinburgh College website. 

See the full event agenda below: 

TimeActivity
8.10amNetwork, coffee and morning roll.  
8.30amIntroduction to the College, training opportunities and funding options.
8.50amInterview with Tracey Bork, Head of People at Lothian Buses, about the client’s experience of accessing the fund through Edinburgh College.
9.05amA presentation from Edinburgh College and the Training Development team about professional training courses and management soft skills (CMI, CIPD, ILM, bespoke).  
9.15amA talk on ‘Adapting to new working conditions during the pandemic’ from John Chalmers – Learning and Development Manager at Business Stream. 
9.35amNetworking opportunity. 
9.50amRound-up and close. 

Edinburgh College Open Day

Edinburgh College Open Day on Friday 4 February is for school pupils looking at their options at college.

You will have the opportunity to book a place on our live Q and A sessions to find out more about the different subject areas you can study.

Book your place now:

https://edinburghcollege.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/open-days

SNIPEF’s Training Services up for national Award for Excellence

The Scotland and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation’s (SNIPEF) training arm, SNIPEF Training Services, (STS) working together as a task group with nine of Scotland’s colleges, has been shortlisted in the category of “Best Use of Technology in the Delivery of Plumbing Training” by BPEC, the nationally recognised training organisation which is set to hold its Annual Awards for Excellence 2021 ceremony online on Wednesday 8 December.

STS subcontracts off-the-job training to 18 colleges located across Scotland where around 850 apprentices are currently in training. The COVID-19 lockdown and the closure of colleges throughout the country, presented the challenge of ensuring apprentices remained on track to complete their Plumbing & Heating (P&H) Modern Apprenticeship (MA).

Apprentices were unable to enter college premises to undertake their theoretical/practical assessments in the SQA assessments rooms, so STS approached the MA joint awarding bodies, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Joint Industry Board (SNIJIB) to explore alternative assessments (AA) procedures.

Dale Thomson, Apprentice Training Manager for SNIPEF, said: “First, we had to ensure any new assessments could be accessed by all apprentices from the safety of their own homes, so we decided to use Microsoft Forms as all apprentices have a Microsoft account.

“Second, with distance learning, we had to ensure that all apprentices had access to suitable IT equipment and were able to undertake assessments, so we worked with our subcontractors to facilitate this.”

Together the task group created 19 AAs with three variations each, typically with around 20/40 questions in each assessment. The work for the AAs ensured that when colleges were able to return, they only had to get apprentices up to date with their practical assessments.

Dale Thomson added: “The new AAs have been well received from employers, apprentices and the Scottish Government’s Skills Minister, Jamie Hepburn.

“Due to its success the joint awarding bodies asked STS to look after and maintain the AAs which will in due course replace the SQA solar assessments.”

Fiona Hodgson, Chief Executive of SNIPEF, said: “The clarity and determination with which the task group addressed the issue and rapidly developed an excellent alternative solution is a tribute to the professionalism of its members.

“It is gratifying to have been shortlisted for this award which, in its own way, underlines the importance of applying new technologies to a range of issues not only within the plumbing and heating sector but in the UK construction industry generally.”

Community Carol Concert at Granton Gas Holder

I wanted to spread some festive cheer and send details of a free outdoor Christmas Carol Concert led by Edinburgh College taking place at Forthquarter Park by the Granton Gasholder next Thursday 9th December at 6pm.

It is a free outdoor event, with some complimentary mulled wine and mince pies on offer provided by North Edinburgh Arts café. The music will be led by the Edinburgh College music department, including the Edinburgh College Chamber Choir, String Ensemble and Clarinet Quartet. There will be carol sheets for singing along!

The college are looking for local people that might be interested in doing a festive reading, or a young person to do the solo for the first verse of Away in a Manager. If that might be of interest, please do let me know.

See below for link to the Facebook page – please do share with your networks, and perhaps see some of you there!

https://facebook.com/events/s/community-carol-concert-at-the/259818786204101/

With best festive wishes,

Fay

Fay Butler| Programme Officer|Edinburgh Waterfront| Place| City of Edinburgh Council

Edinburgh College launches new partnership as part of #16DaysofAction

Edinburgh College has launched a new partnership as part of this year’s 16 Days of Action Against Domestic Violence.

As part of the College’s support for the 16 Days of Action campaign, it has launched a new partnership with Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre, which will see students who have experienced sexual violence receive one-to-one support.

Students across the Edinburgh College Community who have experienced sexual violence at any time of their life will be offered long-term, trauma-informed, one-to-one support. This support will be offered in blocks of six sessions, with students having access to up to 18 individual sessions if needed.

Any students on the College support waiting list will be given the opportunity to access the normal Rape Crisis services for short-term support while they wait. This is in the form of the Here and Now service for over 18s or the STAR Project for under 18s.

If you would like to refer yourself to this service, please email: 

studentsurvivors@ercc.scot 

or call 0131 556 9437, call/text 07966 067 301 and state you are an Edinburgh College student. Please note staff cannot refer students.

The 16 Days of Action campaign has been used as a call for the worldwide elimination of gender-based violence.

It is run annually from 25 November (International Day Against Violence Against Women) to 10 December (International Human Rights Day).