Local employer Leonardo (formerly Ferranti) has been rated fifth in the UK in a new report.
RateMyApprenticeship has released a brand new School Leaver’s Guide across the UK which contains key information about UK employers to help young people who are just leaving school or college and are looking for opportunities (below).
Leonardo (with a long-established Crewe Toll site) was rated fifth in a list of 70 top employers, as voted by Apprentices across the UK.
Scotland’s share of funding from the UK Government’s apprenticeship levy will support a range of employment measures including the delivery of 30,000 Modern Apprenticeships starts per year by 2020 and the establishment of a new fund to help employers up-skill and re-skill their workforce, Minister for Employability and Training Jamie Hepburn has announced. Continue reading Boost for Scottish apprenticeships
An Edinburgh-based carpenter and joiner has been named joint winner of the Adult Apprentice of the Year award by the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC) at a ceremony held in the Scottish Parliament. Continue reading Alexander is Adult Apprentice of the Year
Lewis is Apprentice of the Year
An Edinburgh College Construction student has received a festive treat with a gold medal at the Scottish Building Apprenticeship Training Council (SBATC) Apprentices of the Year Awards. Continue reading A merry Christmas for College apprentices
An Edinburgh-based carpenter and joiner has been named Adult Apprentice of the Year by the Scottish Building Apprenticeship and Training Council (SBATC) at a special ceremony held in the Scottish Parliament. Continue reading Andrew is Adult Apprentice of the Year
Dan and Jordan showcase their skills in national competition
Two Edinburgh College apprentices are ready to stencil, chisel and carve their way to success at a national skills competition this week, representing the city against UK rivals. Continue reading City pair aim to give opposition the brush-off!
Apprenticeships point the way ahead in Lothian
Edinburgh College hosted an employer’s engagement event to advance their curriculum strategy around vocational and work based learning last week. Employers, partners, local councils and apprentices joined college leadership to put their heads together and share best practice. Continue reading Edinburgh College develops young workforce
British Gas will hire up to 200 apprentices in smart metering across Britain, taking the total recruited to approximately 1,000 this year, it’s been announced. Of those new roles, around 30 will be with Scottish Gas.
The apprentices will join the 1,400 British Gas Smart Energy Experts already installing smart meters in homes across Britain. British Gas expects to continue recruiting in smart metering to complete the nationwide roll-out by 2020.
The apprentices will install smart meters, explain to customers how to use the smart meter in-home display, which shows how much energy is being used in pounds and pence, and provide energy efficiency advice.
Customers will benefit from an end to estimated bills, accurate meter readings and the ability to better understand their energy usage, resulting in potential savings on bills. British Gas is currently trialling Smart Pay As You Go with customers who have prepayment meters. The company is also creating new apps that give smart meter customers information about their energy use on their phone.
British Gas has installed over 1.5 million smart meters in homes across Britain, and is now fitting them at an average rate of one every sixty seconds. More than 117,000 smart meters have been installed by Scottish Gas in Scottish households.
John Craig, Director of Smart Operations, British Gas, based in Edinburgh, said: “This year, we will recruit around 1,000 apprentices in smart metering. We’ve taken the lead in giving our customers more control and insight into their energy use through smart meters. The new recruits will mean we can help even more people benefit from smart meters.”
The new Scottish Gas recruits will receive technical training and will study for the City & Guilds Level 2 QCF Diploma in Smart Metering Dual Fuel. Once they have qualified, they will be ready to go into customers’ homes across Scotland to install smart meters. They will each have their own fully-equipped van, and be supported by the latest tablet and mobile phone technology.
Pictured: Smart meter apprentice, Sam Gibb from Edinburgh – who recently started training as part of this new recruitment drive in the initial 70 Scottish Gas roles.
Pictures by Chris Watt
But STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) offers good career opportunities for young women too
As thousands of teens nervously await tomorrow’s exam results, new research from Scottish Gas has highlighted the depth of anxiety among youngsters in Edinburgh about their career prospects …
Two thirds (66.5%) of 15-22 year olds surveyed in Edinburgh are concerned about the possibility of not being able to find a job in the future, while 67.5% are anxious about ending up in a ‘dead end’ job.
Research shows that young women are concerned most about being in a low paying job, with 58% admitting they fear that being in this situation in the future, compared to 77% of young men.
In Edinburgh, young women’s salary expectations reflect these worries: those surveyed assumed their earning potential was over 13% lower than their male counterparts. The research showed that on average, young women expected to earn £29,963 by the time they are 30, while young men expect to earn £34,732.
Young people are convinced their parents’ generation had it easier. Over half (55%) of those surveyed think it is more difficult for them to find a good job than it was for their parents.
Nearly a half (45%) believe it is harder for their generation to find a job with a good salary, while a third (33%) of youngsters think it is more difficult to find a job with good prospects.
When asked about future career paths, the research for Scottish Gas shows that some sectors of the jobs market continue to be overlooked by many young women in Edinburgh. Just under half of those surveyed (46%) admitted they had never considered working in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) sectors.
Last year, just 3.3% of applicants for Scottish Gas’ technical and engineering apprenticeship schemes were women. The company has since put in place a number of measures to attract more women to its apprenticeship scheme. This includes hosting open days aimed at women at its Training Academy in Hamilton and launching a new mentoring programme.
The research found that women in Edinburgh are turning their back on these industries for a number of reasons, including a perception that the industry is sexist (11%), or better suited to the opposite sex (11%). In addition, 44% of young women put their reluctance to work in STEM sectors down to their lack of knowledge of the subject area. A further 6% also say there are not enough role models in these industries.
The results cast doubt on the quality of career advice youngsters get from their parents. The research revealed parents in Edinburgh were almost twice as likely to advise boys to take on an apprenticeship compared to girls. 15% of parents would encourage their son to take on an apprenticeship while only 8% of parents would give the same advice to their daughter. Just over a quarter (28%) of parents said they offered differing career advice to their children, depending on their gender.
John Lochrie, former Scottish Gas apprentice and now Operations Director for HomeCare Services at Scottish Gas, said: “There are some fantastic opportunities for both women and men in these sectors, so I’m concerned to hear that so many young women are put off by careers in science, technology, engineering and maths.
“With boys already taking advantage of apprenticeships, I would encourage girls to think about engineering. Apprenticeships are a great way into an organisation, and at Scottish Gas they allow you to earn while you learn and develop skills for life.”
For young people considering a career in STEM, more information can be found online athttp://www.britishgas.co.uk/the-source.
Julie Dickson (above) is currently training at the Scottish Gas Academy in Hamilton.
Julie, 24, joined the Scottish Gas apprenticeship scheme in January last year. She is now training to become an engineer at the Scottish Gas Academy in Hamilton. She applied for the programme whilst working at Scottish Gas’ contact centre in Uddingston to make appointments to fix boilers.
Julie said: “I started working at Scottish Gas during a really bad winter. I would speak with engineers to make sure they were going to help customers who needed our support first, such as the elderly or those with young children. It was really inspirational hearing how they went the extra mile to help people stay safe and warm, despite heavy snow and freezing temperatures. So when I heard that we were recruiting for apprentices, I decided to apply and I couldn’t believe it when I was accepted!”
When Julie arrived at the Scottish Gas Academy she instantly felt right at home. She said: “On my first day, I wasn’t surprised that I was the only female apprentice. I know, from my own experience, that women aren’t really encouraged to go down this route from school. All the apprentices are treated the same and the support and encouragement I get every day from my instructors is amazing.
Talking about the training, she added: “The training is second to none and it has really built up my confidence as well as a lot of my general skills. I really like the fact there’s a mix of practical and theory on the course. I can be learning how to test a boiler in the classroom one minute then apply what I’ve learnt on a mock boiler in the workshop the next. We also get to shadow qualified engineers as well, so we’re fully prepared and confident in our abilities by the time we get to a customer’s home for the first time by ourselves.”
Julie was also inspired to become an apprentice engineer because of her father, who’s now very proud of her achievements. She said: “My dad works for an aerospace engineering company and started his career as an apprentice. When I was 14, I went along to a ‘bring your child to work day’ at his firm, and that’s when I realised that a career in engineering was for me. I’m delighted I’ve had the chance to get on the road towards following in my dad’s footstep and I’m really excited about the future.”
Now Julie wants to use her experiences to inspire other women to apply. She said: “I’d encourage anyone to consider an apprenticeship. You get to learn life-long skills and get paid to do a job that’s rewarding and enjoyable every day. My goal is to become one of the top engineers in my area to hopefully make other women realise they can get a career in engineering if they work hard.”
92.8% of Craigroyston leavers move into training, further education or employment
It’s official: Craigroyston Community High School is the most improved school in the city! The local high school has shown a remarkable improvement and that’s down to a ‘can do’ partnership approach and sheer hard work.
The latest School Leavers Destination Returns figures just released by Skills Development Scotland reveal that of the 68 pupils who left Craigroyston, 63 (92.8 per cent) went on to positive destinations – that’s into work, training or further education. The figure compares favourably with last year’s figure of 79.5% – even someone with my basic arithmetic can work out that’s a great result!
Craigroyston head teacher Steve Ross believes that too many students fall out of education too early, and the school’s approach from S3 onwards is to offer a range of vocational options alongside the traditional core academic subjects. While some vocational choices are taught by Craigroyston staff others are delivered by Edinburgh College and a range of business partners.
This aim of this partnership approach is to provide students with a clear path to a job, an apprenticeship or a college course when it’s time to leave school. There’s sustained support for all students, ensuring that the young people are equipped with the skills – and the attitude – needed to hold down a job, college place or apprenticeship.
Understandably the whole school community is delighted with the latest results.
Deputy Head Karen Smart said: “We’re definitely on the rise, and I think that’s down to really good partnership working and a lot of hard work by everyone involved.
“There have been eight meetings with partnership agencies over the course of the year and these have been rigorous and really effective – every one has arrived with the right information, communication between the different partners has been excellent and we’ve worked closely together to ensure that the right person is there to provide support for the student when it’s needed.
“Our school is all about employability and acquiring appropriate skills throughout the curriculum, ensuring that pupils will be university, college or job-ready at the end of S6 and always with getting a job at the end. Our S1 pupils understand that they will be with us until the end of S6. These latest figures show that the approach we are taking is having a positive effect.”
Pupil Support Teacher Claire Stewart agrees. “Every student is very different and we’ve been working hard with every one of them to develop the skills they need to progress. We make sure that the support is there throughout: if we find gaps in provision, we fill them and, if it becomes clear that something isn’t working and a problem has arisen we’ve quickly addressed it. The students understand what we are trying to do and they are at the heart of the process – we’re working to achieve positive results together.”
S6 students James and Emma took part in a recent networking event involving the school and a wide range of businesses and organisations; a good opportunity to meet potential employers and find out what options are available when the time comes to decide on a career.
Both James and Emma have just finished their exams and now there’s the anxious wait for the exam results in August.
“It was a well-organised event and a lot of companies were there,”said James. “There’s a huge theme of employment at the school now and it means you are focused on thinking about plans for the future. I’m very interested in the performing arts and that’s a definite possibility for me, but I will keep my options open. Even if I did become a student, I would probably still be looking for part-time employment while I was studying so there’s a lot to consider.”
Emma said: “I’ve enjoyed the curriculum change, the more academic courses alongside free choice subjects. It’s a mix you don’t get at others schools and it’s a really good idea. Not everyone wants to go to university so this works well for most students. I think most students appreciate the change that’s happening at the school.”
The S4, S5 and S6s all work together, too – and it’s led to some healthy competition!
“It’s been noticeably different over the last couple of years, but it’s definitely a change for the better. It seemed a bit strange at first to be working with the older pupils, but you soon realise you are all on the same side,” Emma added. “As an S4 you get more responsibilities and working with the older pupils makes the transition smoother. It felt a bit strange when our last S6s left – some of those students were your role models. Then you realise that you are the seniors now – and younger pupils will be taking their lead from you!”
James recalled a chance encounter with one former pupil. “Some of the guys who left have really surprised me. A few days ago I bumped into one of the seniors who left last year, although I didn’t recognise him at first. He was dressed in a suit and tie and looked really, really smart – and I thought: good luck to you, mate, well done!”
Total Craigroyston was set up two years ago to improve outcomes for children and families in the neighbourhood around Craigroyston Community High School.
It does this by working to strengthen local public services, strengthening support for families and by building on the strength of the community through supporting local activities and initiatives.
Total Craigroyston manager Christine Mackay said: “These results are fantastic and are the result of good solid partnership working. Getting into work, training or more education after leaving school is really important to help young people have a good life and to be able to contribute to society. The school and all it’s partners work really hard together to make sure that all our youngsters take a good solid step into their future after leaving school.”
