Apprentice makes it to competition finals

A Coatbridge apprentice reached the final of a prestigious nat i o na l competition.

Nathan Fagan, an IT apprentice at accountancy practice French Duncan, was nominated in the “SCQF level six” category at the recent Scottish apprenticeship awards.

The former St Ambrose High pupil completed his modern apprenticeship in systems and networking in 13 months, compared to the usual time frame of two years.

He has now been promoted to systems analyst after implementing a new phone system improving communication and profitability – and has gained qualifications giving him advanced entry to computer science at university.

Nathan first became interested in IT through gaming; and awards organisers say he has “exceeded his employers’ expectations with his drive and hard work”.

The 19- year- old added: “Everything I’ve learned through the apprenticeship is transferable to what I do on a daily basis.”

He joined other finalists in attending a ceremony in Perth last week, organised by Skills Development Scotland – whose director of national training programmes, Katie Hutton, said: “The calibre of this year’s finalists demonstrates again that apprenticeships are making a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy and across the country.”