A total of 17 businesses, charities and organisations have partnered up with Forth Valley College to offer Foundation Apprentices placements to help with their studies.
As Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2022 continues, the College can reveal that the excellent stakeholder engagement has seen a total of 21 senior phase secondary school pupils in the Forth Valley area gain valuable workplace experience to enhance their progression on the popular and well respected FA course qualifications in Business Skills, IT Hardware and Scientific Technologies.
Deven Singh, Rachel Morton, Leah Anderson (pictured) and Cait Gallacher (all Short Duration Delivery Model [SDDM] or Fastrack FAs), Euan Beattie (Alloa Academy), Daniel Drewette (Alva Academy), Shaun Barr (Denny High School), Matthew Guest and Ruaridh Surphil (Braes High School), Scott Cowan, Josh Lawson, Christopher Scott, Logan Davidson, Rhys Milnes and Stuart Sime (Larbert High School), James Ryan (Stirling High School), Rachel Cameron (Falkirk High School), Jamie Angus and Abby Robertson (Boness Academy) and Emma Dawson (Grangemouth High School).
The organisations who have kindly offered student placements are: Strathcarron Hospice, 4 The Benefit of All, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum, Key Facilities Management International, Carbert House, O’Malley Property, FES, Net-Defence, Comtech, Transition Stirling, Premier Systems, Stirling University, FVC IT Team, Denny High School - Lab Technician, SSERC, Boness Academy Science Lab, and Grangemouth High School Science Lab.
Additionally, students on the FA Social Services Children and Young People and the FA Social Services Healthcare have also been enjoying placements in relative environments, and Morrison’s Construction are also supporting FVC’s FA Civil Engineering students and the College’s North Lanarkshire Council students to achieve their SVQs.
Helen Young, Head of Learning and Quality at FVC, said: “We are delighted that so many of our partner employers have welcomed a Foundation Apprentice in for placements. Times are challenging at present, but the College, our school partners and employers are committed to the programme and this is another great example of how we are all working together to enhance the skills of our future workforce. A big thank you goes to them all.”
Iasha Craig, Foundation Apprenticeship Work Placement Coordinator, added: “Matching the pupils to the right organisations makes the placements more valuable as the apprentices all really contribute to the everyday business, along with completing the SVQ units in order to achieve their FA. So the whole initiative benefits both the employer and the student. We are always looking for new employer partners and any interested in supporting our FA students next term should get in touch with me.”
Sam Davis Reboot Project Coordinator & Reuse Hub Retail Merchandising Officer at Transition Stirling, said: "At Transition Stirling, we have many projects with the focus on environmental conservation. Our Reboot programme aims to close the digital divide by redistributing refurbished devices to those in need around the Stirling area. As part of their FA placement, the students have been helping us with refurbishing devices for redistribution.
“During their time with us, the students have been very helpful in assisting us with testing equipment such as monitors, PCs, tablets, and laptops. Their largest project involves analysing older models of PCs and figuring out which parts could be upgraded. This project involves heavy research on the part of the students. In addition to upgrading a PC, they have also been tasked with figuring out the most environmentally-friendly upgrades possible, keeping with Transition Stirling's values. All of the technical skills the students have learned during their placement will be applicable in a multitude of environments and will provide them with more confidence in building and testing electronic systems."
Linda Muir, Audience Development Officer, at The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regimental Museum, said: “I have been working with Leah Anderson during her placement over the past few months at the Argylls’ Museum. She has brought a great deal of energy and enthusiasm to her role and having her as part of the museum team has been a fantastic asset. She has been helping with a range of tasks from responding to email queries to helping advertise our educational resources to local schools. She is always willing to help and is quick to offer her own ideas. She has grown in confidence over the past few months and it has been lovely to see her develop her skills during the placement.”
David Boles from Denny High School, said: “At Denny high we have had two FAs come to us for work experience mainly working in our science labs, but also assisting with our different day to day technician tasks. Our technician team have been very positive towards the FA placements and have been willing to give their time to help these young people learn and develop in a working environment. Both apprentices have been very polite and willing to carry out all tasks asked of them. This has made our experience a positive one.”
Sarah Mitchell, Business Support Director at Key Facilities Management International “Our experience with the work placement has been great, it's brought a different dynamic to our workplace, his interaction has grown and it has been enjoyable to show our FA what different opportunities there are in Facilities Management and how the skills he has learned can be practically applied.”
Sarah Mitchell, Business Support Director at Key Facilities Management International who have employees going through their Digital Technology MA qualification, said: “Working with Forth Valley has been a learning experience for us as a company, We were pleased that the college and more importantly the tutors have been available, helpful, and supportive of the journey so that the learning and the business needs are met.”
Forth Valley College’s range of two year (Some can also be Fast Track one year courses) Foundation Apprenticeships offer pupils from local schools the opportunity to help them progress towards a Modern Apprenticeship (MA) while still at school, gaining the skills and experience that employers need.
These innovative programmes, being offered in partnership with Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire schools, link senior school pupils with local employers and aims to help them to build their future careers. Upon completion of a Foundation Apprenticeship pupils can progress onto a Modern Apprenticeship, college study or a university degree.
Foundation Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 6 are available in Accountancy; Business Skills; Civil Engineering; Engineering; Media; IT Software; IT Hardware; Social Services and Healthcare and Social Services Children and Young People.
Foundation Apprenticeships at SCQF Level 4 or 5 are available in Hospitality and Construction.
For more information on how to apply for a Foundation Apprenticeship visit https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/ways-to-study/foundation-apprenticeships/ or email your queries to Foundation.apprenticeship@forthvalley.ac.uk