Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, was quizzed by three Forth Valley College Modern Apprentices (MAs) today (Monday 21 March) at the Scottish Government’s ‘Ask the FM’ event facilitated by YoungScot in Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange.
Creative and Digital Media MAs Daisy Smith (18) from Laurencekirk, Callum Beaton (20) from Thornhill and Craig Tough (21) from Alloa – who study one day a week at FVC’s state-of-the-art Stirling Campus – were invited to attend the event by the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) who developed the apprenticeship programme in partnership with Forth Valley College and Skills Development Scotland.
Jack Aitchison, who completed the Modern Apprenticeship last year, also attended to assist with filming.
Starting at 11.30am an introduction to the event was given by Louise Macdonald, CEO of YoungScot, before the First Minister delivered a speech and took questions from the audience. The FVC MAs were then invited to join the First Minister for a private mini-press briefing where they had the opportunity to interview her for their course work.
Dr Ken Thomson, Forth Valley College Principal, said:
“Dr Ken Thomson, Forth Valley College Principal, said: “We are very proud of our Creative and Digital Media MAs and this was a fantastic opportunity for them to meet and interview the First Minister. They are learning so much on this innovative course which has been created in partnership with the College, the NUJ and Skills Development Scotland and they are bound to benefit from this excellent experience interviewing Scotland’s leading politician.”
Fiona Davidson NUJ Scotland’s Digital Journalism Liaison Officer, said:
“It was a fantastic opportunity for the modern apprentices to sit down round the table and ask the First Minister questions, putting their journalism training in interviewing into practice. It’s not often trainee journalists get the opportunity to interview Scotland’s First Minister. Daisy was also given the chance to do a ‘piece to camera’ linking various aspects of the event for a video produced by the Scottish Government’s media team which was a great opportunity for her.”
Daisy, said:
“It was a fantastic event and a brilliant experience to be able to talk to the First Minister of Scotland in person and in such an intimate environment. The event was great and it was interesting to hear the issues that were important to other young people from around the country. The experience has been really worthwhile and should hopefully help me in the future in terms of interviewing skills and having an interview with the First Minister on your CV is always a plus!”
Callum said:
“A no holds barred question and answer session with the First Minister is a great opportunity, and everyone certainly made the most of it. The question themes were varied and a true representation of the issues young people face. The directness of the First Minister’s answers were also greatly appreciated and made for an enjoyable event all round.”
Craig, said:
“I really enjoyed the event today and I feel really privileged to have had the opportunity to interview the First Minister, because opportunities like this don’t come along every day.”