Employers are given the tools to succeed
Offering young people the best of both worlds, Graduate Apprenticeships developed by Skills Development Scotland are helping companies close skills gaps through the many advantages of work-based learning
SCOTLAND’S universities are helping people get the skills they need in key growth sectors through Graduate Apprenticeships. Developed by Skills Development Scotland, in partnership with education and industry, Graduate Apprenticeships have been created to meet the critical skills needs of employers by providing work-based learning opportunities from DIPHE up to Master’s degree level.
Development has focused on sectors where there is projected growth and a need for highly skilled employees, with 13 different Graduate Apprenticeships available including Accounting, Civil Engineering, Cyber Security and Data Science.
Universities lead on delivering the training for Graduate Apprentices, which are funded through the Scottish Funding Council, enabling individuals to achieve their degree whilst in a full-time job.
Apprentices spend around 80 per cent of their time on the job with their employer and the rest at university.
Eleven establishments including University of Strathclyde, University of Stirling, University of the Highlands and Islands, Edinburgh Napier and Glasgow Universities are creating partnerships with employers of all sizes who are either looking to upskill existing staff or recruit new talent in order to help them develop a highly skilled workforce.
Glasgow Caledonian University
(GCU) works with over 300 employers across Scotland to deliver Graduate Apprenticeships including global temporary power and energy solutions engineering company, Aggreko, where current Graduate Apprentice of the year, Mark Diamond works.
Mark spends three and a half days a week at the firm and one day a week studying at GCU. Mark said: “Doing a Graduate Apprenticeship gives you the best of both worlds – you are constantly putting your learning into practice and gaining valuable experience.
“Earning a salary at the same time as going to university to achieve my qualification really takes the pressure off.”
Fiona Stewart-knight, Assistant Vice-principal Business and Director of GCU’S Institute for University to Business Education explained: “We believe that universities play a critical economic role through the design, delivery and collaborative nurturing of Scotland’s workforce through Graduate Apprenticeship qualifications, whether in an early careers or upskilling context.
“The scaffolded academic knowledge acquired to support and make sense of applied work-based learning in industry, and vice-versa, is a proven and optimised route to a distributed, skilled workforce.
“Industry and universities need each other, which is why at Glasgow Caledonian we work symbiotically to ensure that innovation, knowledge production, growth and sustainability are enabled through our annual intakes of 400 Graduate Apprentices.
“For us, supporting human capital development and delivering contemporary, industry aligned work-based education is a core mission.”
Robert Gordon University supports companies like financial services firm abrdn to upskill its existing workforce.
Twenty-four-year-old Nicole Wallace had already completed a Modern Apprenticeship in Digital Application Support before progressing on to a Graduate Apprenticeship in Business Management at the company.
Being able to put the learning from her course at the University into practice immediately helped accelerate Nicole’s progression from Coordinator to Associate Human Resources Business Partner.
Nicole, of Lochgelly, Fife, said: “Doing a Graduate Apprenticeship boosted my confidence and helped me to build up a network of contacts.
“Having the opportunity through an apprenticeship to learn about the workplace and how a business is made up has been invaluable and opened my eyes to the different options.”
University of the West of Scotland works with building and engineering firms like GRAHAM to develop the company’s talent and meet the sector’s skills needs.
Alexis Smith had already completed an HNC in Civil Engineering when she was offered the Trainee Planner role through a Graduate Apprenticeship with GRAHAM.
Recommendations she produced based on her own assessment of a site project have been implemented in subsequent projects, improving efficiency and saving the company money.
Alexis said: “The highlight of my Graduate Apprenticeship has been learning the job – being able to put into practice what you learn in the classroom is a major benefit.”
Collaboration between universities and industry to profile the benefits of Graduate Apprenticeships and the opportunities available has led to an ongoing programme of joint activity to encourage uptake.
Heriot-watt University held its first Graduate Apprenticeship Recruitment Fair as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week last month, with parents and young people able to speak to employers and apprentices from a range of companies including City of Edinburgh Council, Plexus, Will Rudd and Bosch Rexroth.
Glasgow Caledonian University organised a number of events to profile its range of Graduate Apprenticeships during Scottish Apprenticeship Week too, including an employer showcase on the Accounting framework, delivered in partnership with professional body the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).
More information about Graduate Apprenticeships and how to apply for one is available on apprenticeships.scot, where there is currently over 50 Graduate Apprenticeship opportunities posted on the vacancies area of the site. apprenticeships.scot
Earning a salary at the same time as going to university to achieve my qualification really takes the pressure off