What has the new Forth Valley College Falkirk campus done for us?

Balfour Beatty – the firm which built the campus – has just released statistics and data detailing just how the three-year construction project provided a boost to the local area.

The added benefits to the community during the build overall, showed that at least £2.22 was generated in the local economy for every £1 spent by Balfour Beatty on

the project and – a total of £36,773,974 was the local spend on the project.

Environmental concerns and benefits were also a top priority during the construction, with 96 per cent of waste generated from the build diverted from landfill and a total of 1098 tonnes of waste recycled.

As far as educational opportunities for local school pupils were concerned the project was also top of the class with 1200 pupils given Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) experience, 12 construction career events, 20 3D virtual reality workshops organised for pupils, 42 S4 students participating in STEM competitions and 10 Balfour Beatty mentors created for school pupils.

Employment opportunities were also on offer as the campus became a fixture in the Falkirk skyline, with 173 weeks in total worked by apprentices, six graduates finding

employment, 26 weeks of work experience organised, £2500 worth of Construction Skills Certificate Scheme (CSCS) cards for Polmont Young Offenders being

generated and a total of 38 CSCS cards being offered to FVC students.

FVC principal Dr Ken Thomson said: “We are delighted the community benefits created during the construction of the new Falkirk Campus have been so impressive, and they now compliment the fact that the building and our talented professional staff are now generating immense further educational benefits and results for the people and industry of Forth Valley.

“It was a pleasure to work with Balfour Beatty on this project and we can’t thank them enough for making local community benefits a priority during the build. Their

hard work and commitment to improving the economy, employment and education of the local people of Falkirk and beyond has enabled us to enhance our mission to

Make Learning Work for those seeking to progess with their education and employment prospects.”

Joseph Drugan, Balfour Beatty’s community benefits advisor, said: “On the construction of Forth Valley College’s new Falkirk Campus, Balfour Beatty and our

customer really collaborated to deliver not only a first-class learning space, but also a real social impact to the local area.

"This two-fold approach ensures a legacy of skills and employment for generations to come, which is aligned to Balfour Beatty’s group 2040 sustainability ambition to positively impact more than 1 million people.

"We share the Scottish Government’s approach to sustainable development, working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, to deliver a fairer, healthier and

more equal society.

"Our commitment on this project to supporting these goals saw the project; engage social enterprises, provide employment and training for local unemployed people, provide STEM learning for students and support a range of local community causes, detailed in our social impact report.

“We were able to achieve these outcomes by collaborating with Forth Valley College, and community stakeholders across the Forth Valley area; themselves committed to effecting positive change in their communities.