Recruitment is now on for Forth Valley College’s four Foundation Apprenticeships, which will offer S4 pupils from local schools the opportunity to complete elements of a Modern Apprenticeship (MA) while still at School.
The innovative scheme will link the college with local employers and aims to help senior school pupils to build their future careers.
Foundation Apprenticeships (FAs) are currently available in Social Services and Healthcare, Children and Young People and Financial Services all based at the Stirling Campus and Mechanical Engineering based at the Falkirk Campus and are due to start at the end of August. The College is particularly keen to hear from anyone interested in the Financial Services FA.
Foundation Apprenticeships have been developed by the national skills agency Skills Development Scotland (SDS). They combine academic learning with hands-on skills to develop the knowledge, skills and work experience that will help to broaden options for students, enabling them to go on to complete a Modern Apprenticeship, attend college or university or go directly into employment.
The innovative frameworks are based on the success of existing MA qualifications. Pupils will embark on the programmes in either S4 or S5 with the duration varying depending on the subject area. Pupils will spend time undertaking hands-on learning at college and with a training provider and also benefit from high quality work experience with local employers such as the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Councils, the Prudential and other local business partners.
Head of Foundation Apprenticeships at SDS, Diane Greenlees said:
“Taken alongside other school subjects a Foundation Apprenticeship is a really valuable option for young people who want to get a head-start in their career, and can also help pupils who want to go on to college or university to stand out.
“Whether you did better than expected or didn’t quite get the results you had hoped for, there’s still time to apply for a Foundation Apprenticeship.
“Any S5 pupils considering this option should speak to their guidance teacher or their SDS schools careers adviser as soon as possible to find out whether their school is participating and whether this would be a good option for them.”
Fiona Brown, Associate Principal for Forth Valley College said: “We are delighted to be offering senior school pupils the opportunity to come to the college and study for a Foundation Apprenticeship qualification. Forth Valley College is already a leading provider of Modern Apprenticeships and it is a great fit for us to add these new programmes to our diverse portfolio.
“The qualifications will be an excellent starting point for young people who would like to move into a Modern Apprenticeship, further education or employment when they leave school and will give them an even greater chance of landing the role they are looking for. The skills they develop will be highly valued by employers and the pupils will get the opportunity to gain experience not available at school.”
Gavin Rennie, Emerging Talent Programme Leader, Learning and Talent Development Department at Prudential UK and Europe, based in Stirling, said: “Gaining a place on the Foundation Apprentice programme will begin to equip the students with the skills, knowledge and behaviours that are required for employment in any business function in any company.
“Whilst we are a Financial Services organisation we have a wide variety of career opportunities across a wide range of business functions, IT, Finance, HR, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing to name just a few. More importantly, though the focus will equally be on the transferrable skills, like communication, team working and problem solving, which are required in most long term careers. This is a great opportunity to learn these skills at the same time as gaining an understanding of what makes a business tick.”
For more information on Foundation Apprenticeships at FVC and the application process, please contact schools.co-ordinator@forthvalley.ac.uk or call 01324 403211.