Apprenticeships offer career pathway

In the Year of Young People, there is a wide range of opportunities for school leavers -and more ways for employers to identify the next generation of talent. Gordon MacDougall, head of region for the north-east at Skills Development Scotland, reflects on the role that apprenticeships are playing in developing the future workforce

For many young people, deciding where their future lies can be a monumental task.

Choosing a career path, and figuring out how to get there, can be very daunting and time-consuming.

Fortunately, there are lots of different options for those leaving school today and a lot more help available – meaning there is more than one path to help them get to their end goal.

This year, more than 27,000 people in Scotland will undertake an apprenticeship in industries as diverse as engineering, hospitality, the creative industries and construction.

Apprenticeships go beyond your traditional trades now – giving people a road into different career paths beyond further and higher education.

Apprenticeships let individuals get hands-on experience and work towards an industry-recognised qualification, meaning they get the best of both work and study.

In Scotland, there are three different types of apprenticeship:

Foundation, which is open to young people in the senior phase of secondary school, and combines college-style learning with a significant work placement;

Modern, which lets individuals work, learn and earn in full-time paid jobs as they work towards an industry recognised qualification.

Graduate, where employees study towards a degree while working.

Work-based learning comes with lots of positives.

Young people get to build the skills and experience that so many employers want, and employers benefit too – 75% say modern apprentices improve their productivity.

It widens access to further and higher education, increases adult participation and develops the capabilities and skill sets of organisations and individuals.

Sectors like childcare and engineering are hiring apprentices to fill the skills gaps they are facing – all to the benefit of Scotland’s economy.

The foundation apprenticeship programme, for instance, not only gives young people a feel for the world of work, but some participating employers are beginning to use it to identify their next modern apprentices and employees.

Graduate apprenticeships, which are offered by 14 establishments, including Dundee University, are also being embraced by industry, which sees a fantastic opportunity to upskill staff and to bring on and train new recruits to meet the demands of their business.

Fields including cyber security, software development and engineering are all in demand – and graduate apprenticeships are helping to train up the next generation of staff, while giving them crucial on-the-job experience.

Apprenticeships let young people understand how the workplace really works, and develop crucial skills that will stick with them throughout their working life, from the knowledge required to do the job to soft skills like teamwork and communication.

As a society, it is our responsibility to make sure that young people are prepared for the future.

The skills and experience offered by apprenticeships are doing exactly that for thousands of young Scots.

Top: Lisa Hamilton is a plumbing and heating modern apprentice working for FES. Above left: Gordon MacDougall from Skills Development Scotland with two apprentices. Above right: Kara McHugh is a civil engineering graduate apprentice with Atkins Global.