Green Skills Academy

Led by Fife Council

Even though the river landscape was once a vibrant space buzzing with workers and locals having fun, since industry declined the landscape has also declined due to a lack of infrastructure and maintenance.

We’re improving the infrastructure; however, we don’t want this to fall into disrepair. We also want to ensure that all this activity provides tangible benefits for local people, providing a variety of opportunities for all.

For these reasons, we are delivering what we call the Green Skills Academy. This will consist of cohorts of people within the KY8 area undergoing a programme of training and skills development, as well as targeted employability support into a positive destination (either employment, further education or a continuation of training in a specialised subject).

 The Green Skills Academy will aim to train 84 participants in the practical skills needed to maintain the River Park’s infrastructure and greenspaces, resulting in accredited qualification including CSCS, working at height, health & safety, first aid and more. It will also be tailored to individual needs with additional support available for trainees experiencing health conditions.

The Green Skills Academy has been launched as Rural Skills Scotland wins the tender to deliver the River Park maintenance programme.

“We are pleased to advise that we’ll be working with Rural Skills Scotland to maintain the River Park. But while maintenance is essential it is perhaps more important that we also provide tangible benefits for local people.

"This will be done by providing a variety of opportunities through a programme of training and skills development, as well as employability support into a positive destination - either employment, further education or a continuation of training in a specialised subject,” said Dave Paterson,’ Green Skills Academy Lead and Fife Council Community Manager.