Head of SFC ‘nails’ visit to @BordersCollege

Borders College played host to Michael Cross, the Interim Director of Access, Skills and Outcome Agreements, at the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) recently. Michael was invited to visit the College by Principal and Chief Executive of Borders College, Angela Cox.

In his first courtesy visit to the College Mr Cross had the opportunity to view the facilities at Scottish Borders Campus, and took the opportunity to discuss the vast range of exciting programmes and initiatives currently being delivered by the College, as well as finding­ out about plans for the future.

Principal Angela Cox said: “I was delighted that Michael could see, first hand, the contribution Borders College makes to the communities within our region and our local economy through our excellent training and skills provision. It was also an opportunity to discuss our plans for the future, including our contribution to Innovation, supporting our communities through digital technologies and our role in the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency.”

As part of the visit Mr Cross visited City & Guilds and Apprentice Carpentry and Joinery students, who gave him the infamous ‘four inch nail challenge’, where you have to attempt to hammer a nail, all the way, into a piece of wood with as few strikes as possible. Mr Cross managed a very respectable six strikes before fully embedding the nail into the wood.

Commenting on his time at Borders College, Mr Cross said: “I had a terrific time meeting students and staff at Borders College. The sense of energy and purpose I felt throughout is a tribute to everyone in the College. Angela Cox and her team are inspiring leaders and role models and I very much appreciated their hospitality. I’m delighted too that I completed the nail challenge with all my fingers intact!”

Mr Cross has overall responsibility for outcome agreements (OAs) with Scotland’s colleges and universities. He also leads the Scottish Funding Council’s work on fairer access to education and in helping to ensure students leave college and university with the skills they need to succeed.