New Campus Glasgow: Strategic Benefits Analysis
46
6 Economy impacts
6.1 This section considers the potential impacts of NCG on:
• Meeting employer needs;
• Contributing to city-centre renaissance by creating a world-renowned learning
quarter; and
• Generating quantifiable economic impacts
Meeting employer needs
6.2 A common and key theme of the policy documentation reviewed in Section 2 is the
role that colleges should play in helping to raise employer demand for learning, and in
building stronger links with business generally. The What next? report highlights that the
'critical challenge is to reduce the lead time between need becoming evident and
qualifications available in the catalogue'.
6.3 The three colleges already engage in significant ways with employers and relevant
sector skills councils. For example, Metropolitan College sits on the Construction Forum. In
terms of Sector Skills Councils, GCNS has been working with GoSkills to help design Modern
Apprenticeships for the Merchant Navy; and Metropolitan has been working with Improve Ltd.
to develop a Food and Drink Skills Academy.
6.4 There have been some important and visible outcomes of the colleges'
responsiveness to employers - for example, Glasgow City Council have highlighted the
importance of the colleges being able to offer dedicated training in attracting key inward
investors to the city - such as Morgan Stanley for example.
6.5 Nonetheless, consultations with employer representative organisations have revealed
that there is scope for colleges to improve their links with employers. In particular, there is
some confusion among employers locally as to which college should be approached in
respect of particular areas of training. There is also some sense that the colleges are 'in
competition' with one another regarding the engagement of employers, and the sharing of
information in terms of employer needs. Aberdeen College is seen to have been able to
establish strong links with employers, in part because it is the college within the city.
6.6 Moreover, limited flexibility of space can also limit what the colleges can currently
offer - Central College has worked closely with employers to develop the Centre for Supply
Chain Management, but the development of the centre is constrained by a lack of space,
which can mean that employers cannot be accommodated within the centre when demand is
high.
216
Appendix 13: Economic Impact Report