DUMFRIES and Galloway College today welcomed Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Jamie Hepburn MSP, to its Stranraer campus.
Principal Joanna Campbell introduced Mr Hepburn to college staff and students before highlighting the curriculum areas covered at the Stranraer Campus and their strong links within the local community.
Campus manager Fiona Herron then took Mr Hepburn on a tour, where he had the opportunity to meet the Better Lives Partnership team. This innovative project, set up in 2016, develops and delivers a range of opportunities for children and young people with autism and related disabilities, as well as their families, carers and the practitioners who support them. The Minister also heard about Better Lives Partnership’s flagship programme, Bridge to Employment (B2E), which provides young people with support and training in work skills, support for volunteering and with work placements.
The Minister had the chance to sample some sweet treats as he visited the Bakery Training Area and watched demonstrations by students. The college has successfully secured funding via The Savoy Educational Trust and the funding has enabled the purchase of high specification bakery ovens, allowing the development of bakery specific training within the hospitality area at Stranraer Campus.
Mr Hepburn also met with apprenticeship employers and students before the visit was rounded off with lunch provided by the college’s culinary and hospitality students.
Principal Joanna Campbell said: “We were thrilled to welcome the Minister to our Stranraer campus and hoped he thoroughly enjoyed his morning with staff and students.”
“The college aimed to demonstrate its curriculum versality as well as show off students’ skillsets, which I believe were very well received.”
“Our college is proud of the relationships that we have with stakeholders in government, business, the third sector, and our local community, and this visit was another example of that.”
Minister for Higher Education and Further Education Jamie Hepburn said: “Dumfries and Galloway College’s Stranraer campus is full of innovation and inspiration. It was a pleasure to see it first-hand and to meet with the management, staff, employers and students who are all striving for success.”
“I look forward to keeping in touch with the campus and to working with Dumfries and Galloway College in the future.”
