Dumfries and Galloway College (DGC) is delighted to announce that it has won the Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges prize at The Herald Higher Education Awards 2024.
DGC’s initiative — Back Filling the NHS whilst training new Health Professionals at College — took top spot in its category as the winners were announced during the gala evening, which was hosted by Fred MacAulay, at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel on Tuesday, May 28.
The announcement was a real highlight of an evening in which colleges, universities staff members and students from across the country are recognised for outstanding achievements.
The award is a well-deserved accolade for the college’s innovative programme and saw off competition from fellow nominees: Fife College and Babcock International Group – Production Support Operative Programme, Glasgow Kelvin College – Get into Employment: Rail Industry, New College Lanarkshire – Film and TV for all, and West College Scotland – James Paterson & Sons Skills Academy.
DGC recognised that career development training and academic qualifications for NHS D&G Healthcare Support Workers was required in the region, so the NHS D&G and DGC worked together to initiate a change for the better.
Staff on the programme have the opportunity for career progression pathways and wards can maintain their staffing complement. The initiative also allows students to earn as they learn, vital in the current economic climate, and it also gives them the possibility of shortening the learner journey by a year.
Amongst the other awards recipients on the night were the University of Glasgow for its James McCune Smith Scholarship and Development programme, which won the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Award, and Abertay University, which won in the Outstanding Business Engagement in Universities title for its Spearheading Low Carbon initiative with Transform Net Zero.
Joanna Campbell, Principal and CEO of Dumfries and Galloway College, said: “We are honoured to have won this Outstanding Business Engagement in Colleges prize at The Herald Higher Education Awards 2024.
“The college is proud of this collaboration between D&G NHS to support training of both new students and current NHS staff. The innovative manner in which this training has been created is testament to the supportive working relationship between the two institutions.”
