This week’s blog is by Jacqui Taylor, Head of Marketing and External Relations, UHI Moray.  Colleges Scotland is marking the diversity and variety of the work that Scotland's 24 colleges do with our new blog series, 24 in 2024.

UHI Moray as it is called now was established in 1971 as Elgin Technical College and has been serving the community of Moray Speyside since then. Our commitment to the people and employers of Moray has grown from strength to strength over the years as we have expanded and developed our educational offering as part of the University of Highlands and Islands. Our mission is to ‘Transform Lives’ and achieve this through the important work do within and for our communities.

Moray Speyside is located in one of the most beautiful areas in Scotland and is known worldwide as “Malt Whisky Country” with over 50% of the total amount of distilleries in Scotland located in the area. Additionally, we share much of what’s best about the Highlands of Scotland, including 35 miles of golden sandy beaches, unspoilt countryside and rich biodiversity.

Popular outdoor activities in our region include climbing, golfing, kayaking, sailing, mountain biking, surfing and rafting. With the Cairngorms on our doorstep for skiing and snowboarding, outdoor action runs right through the winter.

We have over the years developed close and very important collaborations with local industry, partners and our local communities. 

This includes: 

Employability Project

UHI Moray have been involved in the delivery of employability support to individuals across our communities for over 25 years. The Scottish and Westminster governments recognise the value of providing support to the most vulnerable and disaffected to boost skills and economic growth and at UHI Moray we are proud to be able to support this work. 

Since October 2023 UHI Moray have been delivering the Moray SWAP employability programme in partnership with Enable Works. The project - which is currently supporting over 130 individuals - is funded by the UK government Shared Prosperity Fund and works with individuals aged 16+ who are facing barriers to progressing into employment, training and/or education. 

Key to the success of this project is the ability to work effectively in partnership with a range of key stakeholder agencies and employers. The project supports the upskilling and reskilling of individuals making them more work ready, meeting industry needs and supporting the overall economic growth of the Moray Speyside area. 

Moray Local Employability Partnership [LEP]

The Moray Local Employability Partnership [Moray Pathways] delivers a wide range of interventions to support employability across Moray focused on key areas where there is an identified need to increase provision and/or where there is a gap. UHI Moray sit on the partnership and chair the Marketing and PR group. The LEP delivery plan identifies the following areas for investment: 

•    Improve employability outcomes for the people of Moray and address skills gaps in key economic sectors
•    Improve the effectiveness of the Moray Pathways Partnership 
•    Work in partnership with local employers, anchor organisations and communities to create fair jobs for the future, increasing the skilled workforce, stimulating labour market growth and enhancing local wealth.

The funding comes from a range of provision under the banner of No One Left Behind. 

Moray Local Outcome Improvement Plan [LOIP] 

We are part of the LOIP for 2 of the most deprived areas of Moray. The LOIPs are linked to the Community Planning Partnerships and are a focus for the Scottish Government. The LOIPs overall aim to improve communities and individuals futures through the provision of: 

•    Education and Employment
•    Health and Wellbeing 
•    Community Involvement 
•    Environment and Infrastructure. 

Each plan has been developed in partnership with the communities so they reflect what the community feels it needs to support an improvement in environment, lifestyle, skills and opportunities. 
Our input is focused on supporting the Education and Employment strand however we support across the whole plan and have been involved with community and family events, one of which included a healthy cookery evening with families supported by our Hospitality Team, provided accommodation for events at our campuses and staff have volunteered at weekend events in the community. 

Curriculum Supporting Communities 

UHI Moray are involved in supporting specific sector-based provision where there is an identified gap in provision. One example is the lack of childcare provision across Moray Speyside which is a significant barrier to individuals looking to return to work. We deliver courses to support unemployed individuals to become self-employed childminders and have delivered flexible childcare courses via our curriculum. We work in partnership with the Parent Poverty team and our childcare lecturers support this work.  

Across the curriculum areas, staff and students support community groups including our sports team who provide community based physical activity for individuals with long term health conditions and sporting activities for young people, whilst our integrative healthcare team provides non-clinical health interventions to care home residents. 

Apprenticeships – Foundation and Modern

We manage contracts for both the Foundation and Modern Apprenticeship programmes. Through this, we work with over 130 employers and their apprentices towards a positive outcome. We provide support from the recruitment stage to the achievement of the SVQ qualification. Employers benefit a great deal from employing apprentices as it offers them the opportunity to invest in Morays young people by providing the opportunity to train towards a nationally recognised qualification while working. 

We continue to expand our involvement across additional apprenticeship frameworks which are be based on employer requirements. 

Moray Growth Deal

UHI Moray are leading on the Business Hub project - part of The Moray Growth Deal - and are involved with at least 3 of the other projects including: Early Years STEM, Cultural Quarter, and the Rural Centre for Excellence. The deal overall includes 6 other projects with 1 to be developed. The deal is an investment of over £100 million from UK and Scottish governments and aims to deliver transformational investment to drive economic growth across the region.

The Growth Deal will also support major new developments in key sectors of health and aerospace, as well as early years education, all of which will expand Moray’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills-base. 

One other area UHI Moray is involved with linked to supporting the Moray Growth Deal is the Elgin Town Board which has been established to developed projects funded by the £20M from the UK government to Elgin as part of the Long-Term Plan for Towns.

Construction Awards

We hold an annual celebration event recognising the achievements of our construction apprentices from years 1 to 4. This event is support by 24 employer sponsors and is a testament to the relationship developed between UHI Moray and our employers across the construction industry. 

These are just a few examples of the involvement UHI Moray has in its communities and we will continue to build on this vital work to ensure that we can as the local university but also a vital cog within our community support the future growth and development of the Moray Speyside area and the communities living in the area.