First students graduate from CECA Scotland Academy course

David MacDonald, Vice Chair of CECA Scotland (far left) and also Managing Director for Global Infrastructure, with the UHI Inverness graduates of CECA Scotland Academy (from left) Ronin MacKay, Alison Wright, Craig Watts, Georgia Butler, Jayden Wallace, Josh Fisher, Jordan Strachan, Jack Allison and and Mikey Bell.

The first students of a new course that was introduced to address the skills shortage in the civil engineering industry had plenty to celebrate at their graduation ceremony when they were all guaranteed job offers.

The graduation was held at the Balloch campus of UHI Inverness to celebrate the very first group of successful students from the new CECA Scotland Academy Civil Engineering Operations course taught at UHI Inverness.

Representatives from a number of civil engineering firms from across Scotland were invited to the inaugural event. They met with the nine students after the presentation of certificates to begin the recruitment process, which guarantees job offers for all the graduates.

The Civil Engineering Contractors Association Scotland designed the course to meet the workforce needs of an industry with a growing skills gap. Energy Skills Partnership (ESP) worked with UHI Inverness and other colleges to introduce the course within the SQA qualification framework, and the Scottish Funding Council also provided support.

It is projected that the Highlands needs up to 150 civil engineering operatives over the next three years. The pilot course was introduced to expand the civil engineering workforce to build the future infrastructure projects set by the Scottish Government.

To read the full story visit: First students graduate from CECA Scotland Academy course that was introduced to meet skills gap in civil engineering industry - Scottish Business News