DGC delighted to welcome BBC to its Crichton Campus

Dumfries and Galloway College (DGC) welcomed BBC Scotland to its Crichton Campus on Tuesday, March 12 to speak with staff and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at life in a Higher/Further Education college.

The national broadcast crew arrived at 10am and met with Principal Joanna Campbell to talk about the significant demand in courses, particularly in Construction, Engineering, Health & Social Care and Childcare.

She discussed at great length how the college is meeting the needs of the region and workforce demand with these courses and DGC is working in partnership with regional businesses to keep on top of trends in industries to tailor education correctly.

Following the interview with Ms Campbell, the BBC cameras then toured the Hair & Beauty salons and Construction workshops to showcase students’ practical skills before meeting Phil Storrier, Executive Director of Student Experience, at the STEM Hub to learn about the widening access and outreach initiatives at the college.

The BBC team were keen to highlight the need for rural communities to retain young people and their skills as many of these communities face young people moving to cities in order to get jobs and attend further education.

They learned that DGC uses a mix of qualitative and quantitative data to plan skills that meet the needs of employers and those moving to further study — with 30% of students going into employment and the remaining 70% moving on to further study.

With the college performance above the national average in FE and HE, it also offers flexible learning to suit the needs of its students’ busy lifestyles and works to support their study with the option of online or part-time learning.

Joanna Campbell, Dumfries and Galloway College Principal, said:

“DGC was delighted to host BBC Scotland for a special report inside our Crichton Campus.

“It was a pleasure to help promote the fantastic work of our staff and students and look forward to welcoming the BBC to the college again the future.”