Whether you’re chasing a lifelong dream, returning to education as an adult learner or you’ve had a change of heart and fancy a career change later in life, there’s a dynamic course to suit every student journey at Forth Valley College.
The esteemed college has places available in courses across all its teaching departments: care, sport, business and communities, creative, digital and leisure industries, and STEM and construction – and is now inviting applications for courses commencing in August 2025, across all three of its campuses.
Forth Valley College, which became the first merged college in Scotland in 2005, is a leading provider of further and higher education, offering a wide range of exciting courses and training opportunities, with the dynamic ethos of Making Learning Work at the heart of all it does.
Winner of the prestigious 2014 Beacon Award for Innovation, as well as several other national further education honours over the last four years – the college welcomes 12,000 students per academic session, with 94% of learners progressing to further studies or employment upon completion of their course.
For those hoping to study science or engineering at the college’s Falkirk Campus, it’s good to know the college is one of Scotland’s leading STEM colleges and is strategically linked to numerous local industries.
The engineering and science department has created modern facilities, allowing the college to offer innovative, integrated degree programmes in this field, linked to the University of Strathclyde, Heriot-Watt University, the University of Stirling and the University of Aberdeen. The college also provides training to more than 1,000 modern apprentices every year, in subjects ranging from engineering to construction.
Successful applicants for the University of Aberdeen partnership courses will start their degree studies at Forth Valley College, before benefiting from free accommodation in years three and four in Aberdeen, whilst completing their degree. The free accommodation offer aims to address barriers to higher education, such as financial constraints and the cost of living crisis.
Care, sport and construction courses can also be studied at the Falkirk Campus, which opened its doors in 2020. Two new pathways which could create opportunities for future construction professionals are the NQ bricklaying and the NQ painting and decorating courses.
Computing courses are another area of expertise at the college’s Falkirk Campus. Courses have been thoughtfully designed with an aim of putting students and their skillsets at the forefront of the challenge of cyber security in the UK in years to come. The college is also confident that the Falkirk Campus offers what students with an interest in administration and information technology, accounting and finance are looking for.
At the Stirling Campus, the college proudly educates the next generation of chefs and front of house staff through hospitality courses, and its elegant Gallery training restaurant, which is open to the public – offering students invaluable hands-on, real world experience.
Creative industries are also a point of specialty at Stirling, and tourism and events courses are proving particularly popular here, too.
At the college’s Alloa Campus, courses in care, childcare, construction, engineering, hair and beauty, as well as pre-apprenticeships in plumbing and various supported learning courses are flourishing, with staff at the college feeling confident they will have exactly what students are looking for as they seek out their ideal career path.
A new Skills Simulation Suite has recently opened its doors at the college’s Alloa Campus, offering an impressive facility designed to provide the next generation of care providers with hands-on experience in a realistic, simulated environment.
This innovative suite, developed in collaboration with NHS Forth Valley, features modern resources and equipment aimed at enhancing the training of students in the health and social care sectors.
The college is proud to work in close collaboration with a wide range of partners to ensure it delivers opportunities which meet the needs of learners, employers, local industry and national skill agendas, striving to bring their ethos of Making Learning Work to life in everything that it does – and staff are ready and waiting to help prospective students choose the perfect course to kickstart an exciting and successful future.