Scottish SPCA staff benefit from Bespoke Training with Edinburgh College
Staff from the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Scottish SPCA) have benefited from a bespoke Project Management training course designed and delivered by Edinburgh College.
The leading animal welfare charity, which has been protecting animals and preventing cruelty for 180 years, took part in training to upskill staff on the theory of Project Management to support them in working with new processes introduced within the Scottish SPCA, which includes working on a project basis, across various facts of the organisation.
The unique course developed for the Scottish SPCA, was aimed at providing staff with the underpinning knowledge that they would need to work on projects across the organisation, as well as to support staff in using the ‘Project Management Office’ which is currently being implemented in the society.
Following two planning sessions, or technical rehearsals, with leaders from the Scottish SPCA to agree course content and learning outcomes, Edinburgh College Associate Trainer Bryan Leslie developed a course titled Adapting a Project Approach: Project Management Fundamentals.
Delegates from the Scottish SPCA attended virtual workshops led by Bryan which covered key themes including: Idea, Initiation, Planning, Managing, and Closure and Review – based on traditional Project Management cycles.
Staff members including centre managers, education managers, communications professionals and senior vets took part in the workshops – ensuring project management training was delivered to multiple teams within the Scottish SPCA.
The course was funded through the Flexible Workforce Development Fund, which allows organisations across Scotland to access up to £15,000 worth of training with their local college to upskill or retrain staff.
What they said:
"The training was beneficial as it encouraged people to think about the scope of work involved in a project and to consider how much input you require from different people across the organisation. “It made you think about the teams which would need to be involved (in a project), what their capacity might be, and understand what work is involved for them. This helps people to make measured decisions about whether or not a project is achievable and what timescales to put in place.”Michael Scobbie, Head of Communications and Engagement at Scottish SPCA
“The course provided a good insight into project management. It has been good to see how to structure projects within the organisation, which I didn’t know about before, having never had formal project management training.”Louise Griese, Centre Manager at Scottish SPCA,
“As a result of the training, more people have been defining things as projects across the society which is very useful. By knowing about projects before they are complete, I now have more opportunity to give veterinary input on certain things which is great.”Jo Neilson, Senior Vet at Scottish SPCA
“It’s been a privilege to work alongside the Scottish SPCA – an organisation which does such vital work across Scotland. “We are delighted to have delivered this Project Management course to the Scottish SPCA delegates and to have received such positive feedback in terms of course content, bespoke nature of the training and the effectiveness of our associate trainer, Bryan.”Liam Conway, Business Development Manager at Edinburgh College