As Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 began on Monday 6 March, Forth Valley College revealed that an ‘Adopt an Apprentice’ scheme is helping MAs to find new employers after being made redundant.
Iona Hewlett (22) from Sauchie, who is in the second year of her Modern Apprenticeship in Joinery, was sadly made redundant late last year. However, after contacting her FVC Apprenticeship Officer, Irene Kane, she has now been recruited by another respected firm – Total Reinstatement Services - to complete her MA.
https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/news-events/adopt-an-apprentice-scheme-proving-successful-at-fvc/
On the same day pupils from St Andrew’s Primary School in Falkirk visited the Falkirk Campus to have a tour, take part in some STEM activities and learn a little bit about Modern Apprenticeships.
Also on the Monday, Hospitality Foundation Apprentices were preparing and serving a lunch at the Inchyra Grange Hotel.
On Tuesday 7 March FVC Foundation Apprentices in Creative and Digital Media showed off their characters, in a stop-motion project designed to prepare them for an upcoming unit on Storytelling.
And Forth Valley College were delighted to use Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 as the ideal opportunity to showcase the skills that can be learned through the FA programme. The talented and enthusiastic group used small figures or 2d paper figures to create a short narrative film with the theme 'oops my bad'.
https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/news-events/fa-creative-and-digital-media-course-builds-characters/
Also on the Tuesday Larbert High School pupils visited the Falkirk Campus for a tour of the facilities, STEM activities and to find out more about the MA programme at the College.
Wednesday was International Women’s Day and to celebrate this and Scottish Apprenticeship Week, we revealed how a group of TechnipFMC Modern Apprentices – who were part of Forth Valley College’s largest ever intake of female engineering MAs in 2018 and the focus of the 2019 Scottish Apprenticeship Week – had served their time and had now taken up full-time roles at the respected firm’s Dunfermline operation.
The landmark in their career was the ideal celebration for Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 and also International Women’s Day which fell on Wednesday 8 March.
A photo showed Sophie Benton, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Apprentice, Rachael Snedden, a Technical Business Apprentice, Sophie Green, a CAD Apprentice, Isla Noon and Lauren Sanders, both Technical Business Apprentices. Sophie will finish her apprenticeship later in 2023, while the others have recently completed their apprenticeships and been taken on full-time jobs with TechnipFMC.
https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/news-events/female-technipfmc-mas-complete-their-courses/
On Thursday 9 March, Construction Modern Apprentices at Forth Valley College showed how they will be building on their portfolios and career skills earlier than before, thanks to an innovative move by the College’s Work Based Assessors Team.
In the midst of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023, FVC revealed how MAs are now asked to complete their Onefile Inductions sooner in their course, which will prepare them better for the start of the SVQ qualification.
https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/news-events/earlier-inductions-to-help-build-construction-careers/
Thursday also saw ECITB hold their Central Scotland Regional Forum at the Falkirk Campus with 20 employers attending and Falkirk High School pupils visited to receive a presentation on the MA Programme.
Later in the afternoon, a delegation of senior FVC staff – led by Vice Principal Learning and Student Experience also attended the Engine Shed in Stirling, to celebrate the achievements of three Historic Environment Scotland MAs at the Skill Build event, where they landed a first, second and fourth positions in the Stonemasonry section.
It was also revealed on Thursday that switched-on engineer Hope Ralston – who studies at Forth Valley College - had won a national apprenticeship award for her work to save energy and cut emissions for her employer, Forth Ports.
Hope, from Falkirk, has been named winner in the Supporting Net Zero Apprentice of the Year award sponsored by the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards held on the evening of Wednesday 8 March.
On the last day of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 at the College Total Reinstatement Services were in the news once again, this time for revealing that they have laid the foundations for a solid new tradesman working in their ranks, by taking on a mature Modern Apprentice joiner.
They saw the benefits and were more than happy to take on 32 year-old Scott Stewart as a Modern Apprentice (MA) Joiner a couple of years ago, and the move is already paying dividends as he enters the third year of his MA.
https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/news-events/mature-ma-scott-nails-it-at-work-and-at-college/
Finally to round off the week at Forth Valley College – and if any more inspiration was needed to show how an apprenticeship can lead to a successful career – Kenny MacInnes, who will take up his new role of FVC Principal on Monday 1 May this year, shared how he began his career as an engineering apprentice at the old Falkirk College of Technology after leaving school in 1985!
