We're an inclusive place to work

At West College Scotland we are ambitious about Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion. If you've got the right skills and qualifications for the job, we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from all candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.

The College is firmly committed to delivering its moral, corporate, and legal responsibilities.  Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion is therefore central to all that we do in the College where we are all responsible for fostering an environment of inclusivity. Some of our recent work is outlined below, however, if you are looking for any information that you cannot find below, please contact inclusion@wcs.ac.uk or hr@wcs.ac.uk

Accreditations:

The College holds a number of accreditations including: Disability Confident, Carer Positive, Armed Forces Covenant and it acts as a Corporate Parent supporting those in care and care leavers.

Partnerships:

We also work closely with local and national partners including: Age Scotland, Accessible, LGBT Youth Scotland, ScottishTrans, Black Professionals Scotland, BEMIS, Emily Test, White Ribbon, Close the Gap, Who Cares Scotland? Interfaith Scotland and the Donaldson Trust.

The Green Room:

Some of the areas our College serves have the highest deprivation in Scotland. That's why we have to ensure that socio/economic background is not a barrier to staff or students. Each campus has a Green Room where students and staff are welcome to drop off and pick up food and clothing donations to help our college community.

Age and Youth Employment:

We support young people in early stages of their career through the iAspire Programme. Any employee of the College 16-25 can get access to employability skills and other interpersonal skills workshops. Where budget and/or funding opportunities allow we employ young people as:

  • ​Modern Apprentices
  • Graduate Interns
  • Kick Starters
  • Summer Interns

Disability (visible and non-visible disabilities including neurodiversity):

We're committed to disability equality, if you need reasonable adjustments to participate in college life, we will do all we can to meet your requirements. Your disability could be visible or non-visible, regardless we want to try and support you. We also have a Disability Equality Network for staff to create a sense of belonging by providing a safe forum to network, socialise, share, question, constructively challenge and receive support for specific underrepresented groups.

Gender Reassignment (and Gender Identity):

At West College Scotland we know that we can only get the best from you if you are able to be your authentic self. We aim to create an environment in which every employee, student and visitor feels equally welcome and valued, whatever their gender identity. We are currently looking to improve gender neutral facilities across all our campuses and make it easier for transgender or gender non-conforming staff or students to transition while they are here. 

Marriage and Civil Partnership:

All of our policies, procedures and practices treat marriage and civil partnerships equally. Any benefits given to married employees are also offered to civil partners, including enhanced paternity and adoption leave.

Pregnancy/Maternity:

We're proud to support the health, wellbeing, and safety of women during their pregnancy and are happy to help however we can, including assisting with the return to work or study. We offer health and safety support as well as enhanced maternity leave and pay for our mums-to be (subject to eligibility).

Race:

Racism has no place at West College Scotland​, and we are committed to promoting equality in every working, learning, and teaching environment.​

Racial Equality forms part of our Equality Outcomes for 2023-27 as we try to attract and retain more students and colleagues from a Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnic background so that we can be more representative of the communities we serve in the West of Scotland. We also have a Racial Equality Network to help achieve this outcome. Staff who participate in the network discuss issues and challenges facing ethnic minorities at West College Scotland and are part of the solution.

Religion/Belief:

We're proud to celebrate and value the diversity of all our students, staff, and visitors. We are also proud to create a positive working, learning, and teaching environment where every belief is respected. To do this, we work hard to educate and raise awareness of the many cultural, religious, non-religious and philosophical beliefs represented on campus.

The Chaplaincy Team at West College Scotland aims to make the College a vibrant, inclusive and welcoming environment for students and staff of all faiths and no faiths to meet and get to know each other.

Each campus has its own neutral faith space, called The Sanctuary. This is open to both staff and students and is a place for peace, contemplation, thought and prayer. It is open to individuals from all faiths and none. 

Sex:

Each College has been tasked by the Scottish Funding Council, with developing its own Gender Action Plan, GAP, to tackle those subjects with the greatest gender imbalance. This is a journey we have been on since 2017 and you can view progress in our 2023 Equality Mainstreaming Report. 

Since 2022, we have been working with Emily Test and White Ribbon to do our part in ending gender-based violence. ​

Sexual Orientation:

We value all our students, staff, and visitors equally, regardless of sexual orientation, and want to create an environment in which everyone, whatever their sexuality, feels equally welcome and valued.

We're also proud to be partnered with LGBT Youth Scotland as we complete the LGBT Charter. This gives us access to best practice in policy and procedure development, networking opportunities with other organisations, and the opportunity to benchmark ourselves against competitors.

Staff can also be part of the Pride (LGBTQIA+) Equality Network to form part of the collective voice of LGBTQIA+ staff at West College Scotland.