Forth Valley College’s Falkirk Campus, Scotland

Spread across three buildings, the Campus provides state-of-the-art facilities including world-class laboratories, a process training rig, a virtual control room and transmission training centre.

Now operating as the College’s headquarters, the campus is home to more than 2,000 full-time students and specialises in science, maths, engineering and construction subjects as well as care, salon services and health and sport courses.

A UK first!

To provide firm foundations for the campus we utilised our in-house ground engineering and mechanical and electrical expertise and worked with our design partners, GI Energy, to develop the UK’s first ever large scale driven pre-cast energy pile arrangement. This consisted of over 800 thermal loops integrated into the concrete foundation system to create low carbon energy performance.

Positively impacting the local community

Working collaboratively with Forth Valley College, our team has successfully created over £20 million worth of social value in the local area. This included recycling 1,098 tonnes of waste and generating £2.22 in the local economy for every £1 we spent. We also developed an ambitious programme to deliver benefits to the local residents, schools and the College itself, as well as boosting the local economy by employing nearby workers and purchasing materials from various community enterprises.

Learning, engaging and mentoring

We provided earn and learn opportunities for over 72 apprentices and trainees, helping to create a lasting skills legacy in the area. We also sponsored the Engineering Development Trust, a UK STEM skills charity, to develop a new school STEM educational resource in partnership with the College. Over 160 secondary pupils across the College participated in extra-curricular STEM learning, site experience and mentoring provided by our team and the Engineering Development Trust. Through these initiatives we were able to link our industry with local colleges with the overarching aim to provide a pathway into construction for young people at Foundation Apprenticeship level.