Flexibility to adapt to new ways of working and to implement innovative processes at the heart of business may never be more important as a result of the ongoing health crisis.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen organisations across all sectors demonstrate new levels of creativity and resilience to adapt their product range and service offering, as well as embracing Virtual Professional Training to develop their people to ensure they continue to meet the needs of their clients.
Edinburgh College, and indeed other educational institutes across Scotland, are in a unique position to support firms in that process, and can facilitate funding to help businesses across the country through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) and the Standard Innovation Voucher initiative managed by Interface.
Edinburgh College has developed a strong reputation for working with apprenticeship levy-paying employers across a variety of sectors to deliver bespoke training programmes which meet the training needs and learning outcomes of the organisation, funded through the FWDF.
The FWDF provides eligible employers with funding to cover the cost of training from their local college, to upskill and reskill their existing workforce.
The College has delivered training in areas including: Mental Health; Leadership and Management; Microsoft training; Hospitality, and Creative Industries subjects among others.
Standard Innovation Vouchers are open to application from all SMEs, social enterprises and third sector organisations in Scotland.
The initiative brings together industry and academia in partnerships which allow participating businesses to access up to £5,000 to cover the academic project costs associated with the development of a new product, process or service; or internal working processes and practices.
There are two types of Standard Innovation Vouchers available to businesses:
Product/Process/Service Innovation Voucher – these support outward innovation to develop a new product, process or service.
Workforce Innovation Voucher – these support inward innovation to develop the company’s internal workforce such as new or enhanced workplace processes, innovative workplace practices and innovative business expertise.
Edinburgh College is experienced in developing partnerships with organisations across all sectors to support innovation that will benefit the company and boost the Scottish economy.
The College’s Training and Development team has completed projects within Engineering and the Creative Industries to support growth of Scottish businesses, as well as supporting a diverse range of third sector organisations.
To find out more about working in partnership with Edinburgh College's Training and Development and Curriculum teams, click here.
