CPD Impact
Empowering individuals, organisations and partnerships to deliver lasting impact.
Through professional learning, workforce development and strategic partnerships, the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) helps individuals, organisations and communities build the skills, leadership and innovation needed to respond to emerging economic and societal challenges. Working collaboratively with government, employers, schools, colleges and industry partners, we design and deliver initiatives that strengthen workforce capability, drive productivity and support sustainable growth. Our impact spans leadership development, digital innovation, entrepreneurship and sustainability, supporting more than 500 learners through Skills Scholarships, engaging over 250 SMEs through Help to Grow: Management, contributing to the £21 million UKRI-funded Digital Dairy Chain, and enabling initiatives that have supported an estimated 2,481 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) reductions. The case studies below showcase how UWS is delivering meaningful impact across Scotland and beyond.
Leadership
Developing confident leaders who can drive organisational change, strengthen collaboration and support sustainable growth across business, public services and communities.
Help to Grow: Management at University of the West of Scotland
More than 250 SMEs have engaged with the Help to Grow: Management programme at UWS, strengthening leadership capability and supporting sustainable business growth across Scotland and the wider UK. Delivered across our Scottish campuses and in London, the 12-week programme combines practical workshops, one-to-one mentoring and peer learning to help business leaders develop skills in strategy, innovation, leadership and digital transformation.
By combining academic expertise with real-world business insight, UWS is helping leaders build more resilient, productive and innovative organisations that contribute to stronger local and regional economies. The programme is 90% funded by the UK Government, with UWS providing a bursary to cover the remaining participant contribution, enabling eligible SMEs to participate on a fully funded basis.
Hear from some of our UWS Help to Grow: Management Alumni:
Ewan MacDonald - Houston Kilt Makers
Karen Wallace - Right Way Credit Union
Susan Deakin - Albion Environmental
Cultures for Leadership Integration
Developed in partnership with the Scottish Government, the Cultures for Leadership Integration (CLI) pilot was created to strengthen leadership capability across Scotland's integrated health and social care system in response to the ambitions of the Health & Social Care Service Renewal Framework 2025–2035.
The six-week pilot programme supported 90 professionals from across health, social care and the third sector, equipping participants with the leadership, cultural awareness and collaborative skills needed to lead integrated services and drive sustainable system change. Built around the innovative CLI Compass framework developed by UWS, the programme provided a practical approach to translating national policy ambitions into day-to-day leadership practice.
Evaluation demonstrated a strong and positive impact. Participants reported increased confidence in leading across organisational boundaries, applying the CLI Compass within their own organisations and supporting wider service improvement. The pilot has demonstrated the value of interdisciplinary learning in strengthening collaborative leadership and fostering more person-centred approaches to care.
While the pilot programme has now concluded, its legacy continues. The evaluation has informed discussions with the Scottish Government on future workforce development, and the wider CLI programme is helping shape national conversations around integrated care, leadership and organisational culture across Scotland.
Skills & workforce development
Supporting people and organisations to build the skills needed for today's workplace while widening access to lifelong learning and professional development.
Skills Scholarships
Our Skills Scholarships initiative, launched in Summer 2024, provided individuals with the opportunity to complete a CPD module at no cost, helping learners enhance their skills, gain recognised university-level learning, and progress in their professional journeys.
Over the lifetime of the initiative, UWS supported approximately 500 learners through Skills Scholarships, enabling participants to upskill, build confidence and develop knowledge directly relevant to their careers and industries. The programme successfully removed financial barriers to professional learning, making high-quality CPD more accessible to individuals seeking to develop new competencies, enhance their career prospects or retrain in response to changing workplace demands.
The initiative also delivered significant benefits for employers, particularly SMEs and organisations with limited training budgets, by enabling investment in workforce development without additional financial pressure. Supporting employees to access university-level CPD helped organisations strengthen capability, improve productivity, build resilience and foster a culture of continuous learning.
While the Skills Scholarships programme has now concluded, its impact continues through the hundreds of learners who have enhanced their skills and the organisations that have benefited from a more capable and confident workforce. The initiative reflects UWS's ongoing commitment to widening access to lifelong learning and supporting skills development across Scotland.
Upskilling Fund
The Scottish Funding Council Upskilling Fund was introduced to make high-quality learning more accessible and to support ongoing professional development across a range of industries. From 2019 to 2024, over 1,000 learners have benefited from this initiative, gaining the opportunity to study at no cost and develop the skills needed to meet changing workplace demands. By removing financial barriers to education, the fund has helped people enhance their confidence, adaptability, and employability while contributing to a stronger, more resilient workforce overall.
Digital innovation
Helping organisations embrace digital technologies, artificial intelligence and innovation to improve productivity, competitiveness and future workforce capability.
Digital Dairy Chain
As part of the £21 million UKRI-funded Digital Dairy Chain (DDC) programme, UWS is leading the workforce development agenda, helping ensure the dairy sector has the skills, talent and leadership needed to support long-term innovation and sustainable growth across South and West Scotland and Cumbria.
Through its leadership of the Think Dairy Careers work package, UWS is bringing together industry, education and public sector partners to address workforce challenges, strengthen talent pipelines and improve career opportunities within the dairy sector. This includes establishing the Digital Dairy Chain Talent Forum, a collaborative network developing long-term solutions to support workforce attraction, development and retention.
UWS is also helping shape the future of skills within the sector through the Digital Dairy Chain Future Skills Needs Assessment, providing evidence to inform employers, policymakers and education providers on emerging workforce priorities and future investment.
Alongside this strategic leadership, UWS continues to deliver innovative workforce development initiatives, including CPD programmes that introduce dairy businesses to emerging technologies such as blockchain and digital finance, alongside new pilots supporting Armed Forces personnel to transition into careers within the dairy industry.
Together, these initiatives demonstrate UWS's commitment to supporting business innovation, strengthening rural economies and developing the workforce needed for the future of the UK’s dairy sector.
College Local Innovation Centres
Through the College Local Innovation Centres (CLIC) project, a UKRI-funded initiative supporting digital innovation and productivity across the Glasgow City Region, UWS partnered with Glasgow Kelvin College to help local SMEs embrace digital technologies and strengthen their capacity for innovation.
UWS designed and delivered a suite of Business Accelerator programmes, including two dedicated AI for Business accelerators, providing SME leaders with practical knowledge, expert mentoring and hands-on support to explore how artificial intelligence could improve productivity, enhance customer engagement, inform business decisions and support future growth. Participants developed practical action plans, gained confidence in adopting emerging technologies and strengthened their organisations' digital capabilities through a structured programme covering AI strategy, implementation, ethics and innovation.
The initiative demonstrates how UWS works collaboratively with colleges, industry and public sector partners to accelerate digital transformation among SMEs, helping businesses adopt emerging technologies, improve competitiveness and contribute to a more innovative and productive regional economy.
Enterprise & entrepreneurship
Inspiring entrepreneurial thinking, supporting business creation and developing the confidence, creativity and skills needed to turn ideas into action.
Women in Business
In 2024, UWS delivered the Women in Business programme as part of the Scottish Government's Pre-Start Pathways Fund, working in partnership with Robert Gordon University and the University of Stirling. Designed specifically for women with parental responsibilities, the programme provided practical business education, mentoring, peer support and networking opportunities to help participants explore self-employment and develop the confidence to turn business ideas into reality.
At UWS, 10 mothers from Renfrewshire participated in the fully funded programme, with several progressing to establish businesses, secure retail premises and trade regularly at festivals, markets and local events. As part of the wider three-university collaboration, the programme attracted strong demand from aspiring entrepreneurs across Scotland and has already supported participants to launch new businesses while creating lasting peer networks and improving confidence, wellbeing and financial resilience.
The programme demonstrates how UWS works with partners to remove barriers to entrepreneurship, widen participation in enterprise and contribute to inclusive economic growth by supporting women to build sustainable businesses around their family commitments.
Hear from course participant, Jacqueline Quigg:
Imagination to Innovation Hackathon series
The Imagination to Innovation Hackathon series, delivered through UWS Ignite, brought together the University's CPD Centre and Enterprise team to inspire the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs. Funded through the Scottish Government's Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund, the initiative provided over 190 S3 pupils from 25 schools across the West of Scotland with an immersive introduction to innovation, enterprise and higher education.
Hosted on UWS campuses, the one-day hackathons challenged pupils to work collaboratively on real-world problems, developing creative solutions before pitching their ideas to academic, enterprise and industry mentors. Alongside building teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills, participants gained confidence, experience university life and developed a greater understanding of how entrepreneurial thinking can be applied to future study and careers.
The programme demonstrates how UWS connects CPD, enterprise and widening participation to strengthen Scotland's entrepreneurial pipeline. By engaging young people early with innovation and business creation, the initiative supported regional economic development while encouraging more learners to see higher education and entrepreneurship as achievable and accessible pathways.
Sustainability & Net Zero
Building the knowledge, skills and capability needed to support environmental sustainability, reduce emissions, strengthen the circular economy and help organisations transition to a low-carbon future.
Carbon Champions
UWS led the Carbon Champions Project to help organisations across South Ayrshire build the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to accelerate their journey towards Net Zero. Funded through the UK Government's Community Renewal Fund and delivered in partnership with South Ayrshire Council, Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, Ayrshire College and Entrepreneurial Scotland, the initiative combined expert consultancy with university-led training to support organisations in embedding sustainable business practices.
The project supported 68 learners and 28 organisations, equipping participants to become Carbon Champions capable of assessing organisational carbon emissions, developing practical decarbonisation plans and leading sustainability initiatives within their workplaces. Participants reported greater confidence in implementing carbon reduction measures, while organisations strengthened their capability to embed environmental sustainability into business planning and decision-making.
The programme exceeded several of its original targets, including supporting an estimated 2,481 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) reductions – almost nine times the original target – and helped organisations move from intention to action on Net Zero. Evaluation also demonstrated wider impact, with participants establishing sustainability teams, influencing supply chains, championing environmental change across their sectors and creating lasting organisational capacity for decarbonisation.
The Carbon Champions project demonstrates how UWS combines academic expertise, industry collaboration and practical workforce development to help organisations respond to Scotland's Net Zero ambitions while supporting sustainable regional economic growth.
Waste Industry professional development
Working in partnership with the Scottish Waste Industry Training, Competency, and Health & Safety (SWITCH) Forum, UWS co-designed two accredited CPD modules to strengthen technical capability across Scotland's resource and waste management sector. Developed in response to industry-identified skills needs, the modules in Legislation & Licensing and Compliance & Planning provide professionals with practical knowledge of environmental legislation, regulatory compliance and operational best practice. The programmes continue to be delivered, supporting workforce development across the sector through an ongoing partnership with SWITCH.
Developed collaboratively with representatives from government, regulators, professional bodies, local authorities and industry, the modules demonstrate UWS's employer-led approach to professional learning. Participants have used the programmes to strengthen technical competence, support career progression and build towards recognised professional qualifications, including the Certificate of Technical Competence (COTC). Learner experiences have also been recognised through industry platforms, with programme participants sharing how the CPD modules have supported their professional development on the Rubbish Talk podcast.
Partner with UWS
Whether you're an employer looking to develop your workforce, a public sector organisation addressing strategic skills challenges, or a funding partner seeking innovative approaches to professional learning, UWS works collaboratively to design and deliver impactful workforce development solutions.