Fife Paradox' Highlighted as College Staff Look Forward To Year Ahead

/News Release Agency - CollegePressReleases.com/ 19 August 2010

Adam Smith College staff gathered at the College's St. Brycedale Campus in Kirkcaldy this week for a special welcome back from Principal Dr Craig Thomson. The 850 staff of the college came together at a time when the future looks challenging for the college sector with a huge demand for college places and the prospect of cuts in funding.

Dr Thomson spoke positively about the opportunities that the challenging times ahead would create for the College in a year in which he is confident that the College can “buck the trend of the current economic downturn” and “embrace a positive future”.

“My confidence for the future is based on a number of factors. The college has a strong financial foundation on which to build and, most importantly, we have a staff who are excellent and 100% committed to making sure that we do a great job for the students, employers and others with whom we work.”

Dr Thomson also flagged up what he refers to as the Fife Paradox'. Although the future is going to be challenging, Fife has a whole range of positive points on which to build its economic future. The extension of Diageo in Leven and the carrier contract at Babcock in Rosyth are already underway. Other major boosts will come from the offshore renewables industry and, hopefully, from the new Forth crossing. We should see the coming years as a time of opportunities — and learning is the single most important factor in determining whether we grasp these.”

Dr Thomson described the staff gathering at the start of the new session as one of his favourite points in the college calendar. “To see everyone who makes the College a success gathered together is a very proud moment.” In his speech to staff, the Principal highlighted the fact that the new year is beginning with the opening of new state-of-the-art facilities. The college's Future Skills Centre which covers Engineering, Construction, Renewables and Science has just been completed. The new __17.5 million facility is located at the Stenton Campus in Glenrothes.

Student numbers for Adam Smith are excellent with applications up significantly compared to this time last year. The college also has a wide range of projects in the pipeline to build on existing strengths and ensure that learners have the skills and the competitive edge to succeed in the labour market or in further study.”