WELCOME
Hello, I’ m Jim Metcalfe, the Principal and Chief Executive of Fife College. I’ d like to welcome you to Business Connect: Fife College Training & Development’ s new publication for employers, for businesses, entrepreneurs, and our many partners. Here, we’ ll share important information about what we offer to business, about new courses, and updates about our work in supporting the Fife and Scottish economy. We’ re committed to working with you to build skills for growth, sustainability, and long-term business success— across every sector, every size of organisation, and every stage of career development.
There’ s never been a more important time to grow our economy. Our college is here to help you grow and invest in high-quality and sustainable skills for the future. Fife College is on the move, in every way, as we launch Business Connect. We’ ve set ourselves the ambition of being the best-performing college in Scotland in the coming years. We’ re shaping our course offering around business-ready work skills, and we’ re investing in our enterprise and partnerships teams to ensure you get a better, tailored, impactful service from us.
Later this year, we’ re excited to open the doors to our new Dunfermline City campus: a purposebuilt space featuring industry-standard workshops, modern learning environments, and an exciting new Carnegie Conference and Events Centre— all aimed at helping individuals and organisations thrive. You’ ll even find the UK’ s first immersive training skills centre, available to you.
In this issue of Connect, you’ ll find out how funded training is supporting employers like Citizens Advice and Rights Fife( CARF), what’ s new in Health, Safety and Environmental training, and read more about our trailblazing work with Modern Apprenticeships, including some recent successes.
Whether you’ re exploring new training options, looking to build on existing strengths, or simply to stay up to date, we hope Business Connect helps spark ideas, open conversations, and highlight the many ways Fife College Training & Development can support your goals.
My best for the future of your business. We’ re here to help you anytime, and we look forward to supporting you into the future.
Jim Metcalfe, Principal
2 BUSINESS Connect | Spring 2025
Fife College Upskills Electricians with Specialist EV Course
Electricians across the UK can future-proof their careers with affordable, industry-recognised training in electric vehicle( EV) charge point installation. This course provides electricians with high-quality, Ofqual-accredited training at a significantly reduced cost, equipping them with the skills needed for the growing EV sector.
Fife College is offering qualified electricians the opportunity to further their training with the City & Guilds 2921-34 Level 3 Award in the Design and Installation of Domestic and Small Commercial Electric Vehicle Charging Installations for just £ 135, thanks to support from Shell UK.
This initiative is part of Shell UK’ s wider ambition to support 15,000 people into jobs, with a focus on the energy transition, by 2035. Fife College is one of three initial Energy Transition Skills Hubs focused on skills development, aiming to support around 5,000 learners collectively.
Iain Hawker, Assistant Principal: Enterprise & Partnerships at Fife College, said:
“ As we transition towards a greener future, the demand for skilled electricians in EV charge point installation has never been greater. At Fife College, we are committed to equipping professionals with the expertise needed to meet this demand.
“ Our partnership with Shell UK enables us to offer high-quality training at an accessible price, ensuring electricians can seize new opportunities in the rapidly expanding EV sector.”
Anthony Harte, Head of Social Impact at Shell UK, said:
“ Shell UK has a long history of supporting skills