Looking for a place on one of our courses, but need some help and advice?
Come along to our Open Day on Wednesday 5th August
Whether you're interested in designing, building or maintaining the technologies that shape our world, Engineering at Glasgow Kelvin College offers practical, industry-focused learning across a wide range of specialist disciplines, including Civil, Electrical & Electronic, and Mechanical Engineering. From NC through to HND level, our courses are designed to develop practical skills, technical knowledge and clear progression routes into employment or further study.
Our programmes cover key areas including design, manufacturing, construction and building services, with practical learning at every stage.
Many of our courses are also available through flexible day-release pathways, allowing learners to combine study with real-world industry experience while gaining recognised qualifications.
Alongside our full-time and day-release options, we now offer Modern Apprenticeships in Engineering, providing a structured, work-based route that combines college learning with workplace training and nationally recognised certification. This pathway includes HNC-level study and leads to full apprenticeship status on completion.
👉 Explore our Modern Apprenticeships in Engineering
Engineering at Kelvin offers clear pathways into skilled careers, higher-level study and nationally recognised qualifications.
Discover what it's like to study Engineering at Glasgow Kelvin College. Hear from staff and students as they reflect on their experience, practical projects and how their qualifications prepared them for careers across the engineering sector.
Peter: Hi, I'm Peter Brown from Glasgow Kelvin College. I'm Assistant Principal here with Stuart Munro from SWGR.
I'm really excited with the partnership. Next session, we will be running a real engineering course, NQ, Level 5, predominantly mechanical, electrical and telecoms engineering. I would like to discuss with Stuart and why this course is important.
Stuart: The railway's going through a huge skills challenge at the moment. There are various skills in engineering that we simply don't have enough people.
We're trying to give people opportunity in what is a socially deprived part of Glasgow. We've managed to tailor certain elements of the railway engineering to that course so that they get the education and they get the practical experience.
When students come here to learn, we give them various different training courses and certain railway competencies.
One of the competencies is their personal track safety so that they understand how to operate safely on the track. We isolate the overhead line to make it safe to work on. That involves opening switches to cut the energy that's going through the power lines and then earthing the residual current using
They'll come to SWGR part-time and get some relevant work experience.
The big focus for us is retaining those skills. Railway as a demographic has a lot of folk going towards retirement. It's an industry that doesn't have the right diversity balance either. We need to try and address that.
Peter: One of the major advantages of this programme is it's an earn well you learn model.
During your time at Kelvin you will come to our Springburn campus where you will learn different aspects of engineering. With college within the same week you will go out with SWGR, learn those industry skills and get the opportunity to have paid employment.
Hi there, I'm Liam. I'm doing the HND CAD course, computer aided design and drafting at Glasgow Kelvin College.
What I've got here is a concept for an RC car. I'm getting given to do that through the year till March, since a wee race at the end of it. What I've got here is like rough sort of ideas. It's just an odd shape. Here's an outline of the image I've got here. An Arthetic Core GTR.
We use the 3D printers, parts like this chassis under here. We'll 3D print them and sort of do trial and errors. Do the CAD on here, then export a file and it'll come off on the 3D printer. Eventually at the end we'll have a working car. We'll use like this sort of marking gauge thing. It gives us precise sizes for when we're 3D printing. It's good for us to sort of get used to going into the world.
The great thing about the course is you can do it in college and also at home. But after the college, I'd either apply for a uni on more design stuff. 3D design for games, or it might just be 2D drawings on AutoCAD, or just go straight into an apprenticeship or get a job. I couldn't go into any sort of engineering space, as it is just design, so it's quite freeing.
Don't let the fact that it is a HND put you off. I've done fifth year and didn't do sixth year and I came here and it's probably the best decision I've made. I didn't really think sixth year at school was for me and I had my mum and dad. They backed me the whole way. I know some people kind of thought not doing sixth year means you're not doing your exams and you don't like to do well but I went out of school with three highers and came in here and done this and ever since, life just got better.
Hi, I'm Edward. I am studying Electrical and Electronic Engineering here at Glasgow Kelvin College.
When I first applied, I was actually a bit scared because it's engineering. It's one of the hardest subjects you can do.
After the first month, meeting all the lecturers, they made it really easy to learn.
One of my favorite classes is combination logic. So learning about microchips, how the function logic gets, it sounds very intimidating. And for someone that had never really done it before, I came in blind. Honestly, I picked it up after a few months
I started off when I was a teenager as a chef, then graphic designer, and now I'm back again as an adult to study engineering. It's been a long road and it took me a long time to realise what I wanted to do.
If you're hesitant about it, if you show up, at least you can say you tried. Don't be put off by the maths. Get out of it what you put into it. So if you're willing to put in the work, then it's definitely possible.
At the moment, I'm still thinking that I've got a few different paths. Renewable energy in the electronic sector, plant maintenance, windmill maintenance, maybe even working offshore.
My name is Vahid. I studied HNC Mechanics in Glasgow Kelvin College.
What I did before I came to Glasgow Kelvin College, I went to St Andrew High School. Woodwork and metalwork with numeracy.
I was good with my hands. That's why I picked a mechanical engineering. What I like about this mechanical engineering course is it helped me focus.
I've learned some topics like CNC, CAD, materials, quality, mass.
Thank God I have good friends that put me choose.
My plan was that after college, I already applied for like five universities. You never know, they might not be doing a position to get more knowledge to get more practical work.
Advice for people that are going to study is just, they need to know what they're doing. Yeah, they need to know maths, a lot of maths, calculations. They have to be focused. They need to be in the game.
There's a good part with universities. Yeah, they help you with universities. Yeah, that's what I love. The application, it's open. Gotta be quick. You have to be fast.
