Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2019

The theme for this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week is #HereBecauseOf . The idea behind it is thank a colleague, instructor, mentor or boss who has helped you develop their skills and realise your potential.

We asked some of our learners who they are Here Because Of…

Elaine is one of our Level 3 Early Years Apprentices. She decided to change her career path from Nursing to Early Years about 5 years ago. Since joining the nursery she has felt so supported and welcome by all the staff.

Lucy joined us in May 2018 on our Stage 3 Employability Fund, and then progressed onto Stage 4. As part of the Employability Fund she successfully completed a work placement in Balmore Kindergarten. The manager seen potential in Lucy and she is now employed as a Modern Apprentice. Well done to Lucy!!

Shahida is #HereBecauseOf her manager, Lorraine, who had confidence in her when no one else did! She encouraged Shahida to start the qualification which she wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

Our Early Years Modern Apprentice is #HereBecause of his “Mother and her commitment to make a change in my local area.”

*Skills Development Scotland is the national skills body supporting the people and businesses of Scotland to develop and apply their skills.

Promoting Diversity in Care

Recently Lorna was a guest speaker at the Men Into Care conference in Edinburgh, organised by Skills Development Scotland*. The conference showcased the need for a more diverse workforce in all areas of care.

Part of the presentation featured interviews with two of our recent Modern Apprenticeship candidates working in the Childcare sector, Paddy and Robert. You can watch the interview opposite to hear about their experiences and thoughts as Men working in the Childcare sector.

l&g learning are keen to promote diversity in the sector and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds to our learning programmes.

If you’ve got the right skills for the Care sector we want to hear from you. We encourage applications from the right candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, belief or race. To find out more about our Childcare Modern Apprenticeship click here.

*Skills Development Scotland is the national skills body supporting the people and businesses of Scotland to develop and apply their skills.

The Future for Apprenticeships in Scotland

Today Lorna was a speaker at the Scotland Policy Conferences Keynote Seminar: The Future for Apprenticeships in Scotland in the Royal Society of Edinburgh discussing ‘Implementing the Apprenticeship Levy in Scotland – funding, restrictions and issues for SMEs.   This included a discussion about:

• Government priorities for apprenticeships policy in Scotland: providing work-based learning, increasing productivity and meeting skills gaps

• Implementing the Apprenticeship Levy in Scotland – funding, restrictions and issues for SMEs

• Priorities for Foundation Apprenticeships: effectiveness, funding certainty post-2020 and learning from best practice

• Next steps for meeting the Government’s Graduate and Modern Apprenticeships targets: regional planning and tackling the post-Brexit skills gap.

You can view Lorna’s presentation opposite. Slide 7 relates to small business index (SBI) measuring small business confidence levels every quarter. You might be interested in accessing the SBI Scotland quarter 3 report.  Click here to access a summary of the report.  In March 2018, the federation of Small Businesses produced a report exploring the experience of Modern Apprenticeships and Small Businesses. If you are interested in reading this report, please click here. 

Apprenticeships are the Business

L&G Learning are a Modern Apprenticeship and Training Provider based in Glasgow specialising in the Social Services sector. As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018 we have invited our Digital Marketing apprentice and Receptionist, Jemma, to discuss what she thinks of the Apprenticeship.

I am now 5 months into my apprenticeship with l&g learning and have learned a lot about digital marketing I never knew before. Before starting this apprenticeship, I studied Graphic Design. After college I took on a job that wasn’t creative at all as an Administration Assistant in an office. I enjoyed the role but missed the creative side of design. When this opportunity came up I was attracted to it because Digital Marketing looked like a good balance between what I enjoy doing in the office and what I am interested in creatively. It also meant I could continue to learn whilst being employed, which is important when you have financial responsibilities to consider.

I had previous experience of managing a website from college, but it wasn’t until starting this Modern Apprenticeship that I learned how to analyse data from a website. I have learned how to use Google Analytics to see how many visitors we have to our website, what pages are the most popular, and other insights that allow us to improve our website and online presence.

As well as working with the website I am involved in creating and promoting marketing campaigns. L&g learning specialise in training for the Social Services sector and we have recently been focusing on recruiting people on to our Employability Fund courses, and Childcare Modern Apprenticeships. As part of the Digital Marketing apprenticeship I have learned how to use email marketing and social media campaigns to reach out to these people. The biggest difference from what I am learning now to what I learned in college is that what I am doing in the apprenticeship can be directly applied to my job role.

I am continually learning about digital marketing and feel that even after I finish the apprenticeship I will continue to learn more. I was surprised to find that I could even do an apprenticeship in Digital Marketing and have only now discovered the variety of Modern Apprenticeships that are available. I would recommend a Modern Apprenticeship to anyone considering it because whatever you’re interested in there’s probably an Apprenticeship out there for it!

Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2018 runs from 5- 9 March. You can find out more about Scottish Apprenticeships at www.apprenticeships.scot

Erin's learning journey

On my visit to Clever Clogs Nursery I met up with one of our successful learners. Erin started with l&g learning over 2 years ago looking to build on her qualifications, her confidence and gain valuable work experience within a nursery. It took her a while to build on these skills but in the end her hard work and dedication paid of and she was offered a position within the nursery. When Erin came to l&g learning she had been applying for various Modern Apprenticeships in childcare but really struggled with no experience.

"Without l&g I probably wouldn't be where I am now"

Now she is fully qualified and continues on her learning journey. She said "Without l&g I probably wouldn't be where I am now. I love my job". It was great to see how well she is doing and we are excited to see what the future holds for Erin.

If you think the Employability Fund could help you start your career why not get in touch with us

Return of the Lambert

l&g learning’s newest Employability Facilitiator had an opportunity to visit her former High School to promote the Employability Fund to students who are preparing to leave school.

Angelica started on the Employability Fund programme after leaving school unsure what to do next. A familiar feeling for a lot of students in her position. She was informed about l&g learning from her post school careers adviser at Skills Development Scotland and ventured into the city centre for her first ever interview.

"Another thing I found strange was having to enter the school via the main visitor’s entrance, I was a visitor on this occasion but it didn’t feel like I was"

Upon completion of the course Angelica was offered the Receptionist position within the company and since then has went on the complete a Modern Apprenticeship in Creative & Digital Media and very recently started working within the Employability Team. Continue reading to find out how her visit went.

“The walk from the train station to the school was even a little odd, we walked past the gate that I would walk in every morning after getting off my school bus and down the path I used to walk after getting crisps/sweets from the ice cream van (that I’m sure wasn’t even allowed to be there) most breaks and lunch. Another thing which I found strange was having to enter the school via the main visitor’s entrance, I was a visitor on this occasion but it didn’t feel like I was, having spent 6 years in the place. As we arrived inside we were greeted by two friendly senior pupils who showed us to our designated stall. Charis and I quickly got set up and started chatting to the students and their parents asking what their plans were for the forthcoming year and if they had any career choices in mind yet. For the majority of them only being in 4th year they weren’t too sure yet so we just let them know that the Employability Fund is another option from college and university. When our stall was quiet I was scanning the room trying to look for any familiar faces of teachers that I would recognise but wasn’t having much luck and that made me wonder if they had left and if so why? One thing I did notice was that all the students were still smartly dressed wearing blazers and it was nice to see, even thinking that was strange for me because I remember all too well struggling to abide by the strict uniform rules. I went to the social area girls toilets and walking in there was a little strange, still looks the same, still smells the same but didn’t feel the same because half the time I’d go to the toilet was to kill some time of classes I didn’t enjoy too much.”

“I got a chance to have a wander about the different stalls and when doing so I bumped into my old head teacher who was still all smiles just as I remember him, it was nice to let him know that I’m doing well and enjoying working at l&g learning and he was happy to hear this news too. The night went in quickly talking to lots of students and I remember attending these events when I was in school so it was strange being at the other side of the stall but I thoroughly enjoyed it and glad I got given the opportunity.”