BUSINESS students at Alloa's Forth Valley College campus were recently treated to a guest lecture from a former graduate.

Lynne Brierly visited the HND Business students on Monday, January 13 and gave a presentation and shared some advice and the benefits of her college experience.

Tillicoultry native Lynne, 52, left a 28-year career as a civil servant in the Department of Work and Pensions to enrol in a HNC in Business Management course.

She then completed her HND before graduating with a BA (Hons) in Business Studies at Stirling University in 2018 and then a year later graduated with a Masters in Research and Business Management.

Lynne hopes to have a career in academia and lecturing and was delighted to share her story with business.

She said: "I really enjoy coming back to talk with FVC students as I get so much out of it.

"Everyone's experience is different, but hopefully I can show them just what can be achieved.

"The HND is something I completed here at Forth Valley College and provides a really good basis to build on and progress to higher education."

Julie Warnock, business lecturer at the Alloa campus, said: "It was great to have Lynne in to speak with our current HND Business students.

"We are so proud of everything she has achieved since studying with us here and I know for a fact that she is an inspiration to our current HND students."

Lynne was supported by Stirling University to enter a competition to obtain funding that would enable her to carry out PhD research for a paper regarding UK Government employability programmes which help the unemployed back into the labour market.

She was selected and is now one of only two business students in Scotland to receive funding and hopes that after completing the PhD she can begin a career in academia and lecturing.

Lynne added: "I would love to come back in the future to give some more guest lectures as I really enjoy it."