Develop the next generation of talent with Modern Apprenticeships

Transcription

1 volve Opportunities for your busess Develop the next generation of talent with Modern Apprenticeships SCOTLAND S YOUTH Employment Strategy, Developg the Young Workforce, was set out to achieve a sustaable, dustry-led approach to support employers to engage with the education system and to recruit more young people. One way employers can support young people to work is by offerg Modern Apprenticeships, and with the Scottish Government committg to 30,000 MA starts by 2020, even more people and employers will now be able to benefit from work based learng and apprenticeships. Modern Apprenticeships are trag Inside: Issue 3 March 2017 Charity Number SC programmes that help employers to develop their workforce by trag new staff or up-skillg existg employees. With over 80 Modern Apprenticeship frameworks coverg hundreds of roles, your busess will ga vital skills and talent while your apprentice gas dustry recognised qualifications based on highly structured trag. This publication contas a range of case studies showcasg the positive experiences of both employers and young people the Borders who are volved the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme. Pages 4-5 Page 6 Page 7 Introduction AS A NEW PRINCIPAL, I have been impressed by the existg strong partnerships Borders College has with our local busesses which supports the development of our students. Thank you for your commitment. It really does make a huge difference ensurg we are developg a sustaable future workforce which will benefit the Borders region. Employers have been volved skills development for hundreds of years, takg pride passg on their skills and experience which have resulted economically sustaable communities. The importance of employer led skills development needs to have parity of esteem with academic learng and so the focus and vestment Modern Apprenticeships is welcome. As well as high economic return of 21 for every 1 spent on trag an apprentice (accordg to CEBR), research shows that apprentices are more likely to be retaed by their employer for longer. In ensurg our region contues to be competitive a global and rapidly changg economy, this vestment creatg a highly skilled workforce for the future is essential. I hope you fd this Apprenticeship focussed edition of Involve formative and perhaps encourage you to consider recruitg an apprentice as part of your workforce. Our busess development team would be happy to talk to you about any aspect of your workforce development. Angela Cox Borders College Prcipal Opportunities for your busess Page 1

2 Award wng Waverley Housg tell us why they value the MA Programme WAVERLEY HOUSING is an excellent example of how the Modern Apprenticeship programme can provide long term benefits to both the apprentice and the organisation. Havg supported the apprenticeship programme for many of years now, they have provided a number of opportunities to young people the Scottish Borders. Currently employg six modern apprentices with a variety of roles, Waverley Housg recognise the importance of creatg work experience opportunities for young people to help them to develop skills and expertise that will support long term, sustaable employment. However, employg a Modern Apprentice not only provides benefits to the apprentice as Waverley Housg have experienced many benefits for the organisation. One particular is the development opportunities for the existg staff who are tasked with mentorg or supervisg apprentices, enablg them to develop their own skills. It has also contributed to the organisations workforce planng, as to date they have been able to reta three of their Modern Apprentices on a permanent basis to fill job vacancies. The latter reforcg that the MA programme establishes a solid foundation, and provides these young people a valuable opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills required to transition to their respective roles with organisation. The programme has gone from strength to strength and has been hugely successful for Waverley Housg. In November 2015 they were crowned Scottish Modern Apprentice Employer of the Year (employers with less than 250 employees) and received a visit by Paul Wheelhouse MSP a few months later to launch Scottish Apprenticeship Week The visit not only allowed them to promote their contued vestment Developg Scotland s Young Workforce, but also provided an opportunity to promote their corporate identity and raise their profile with the community. The success of this programme is set to contue as Waverley Housg Chief Executive, Margaret Ross commented our experience to date has been very positive and we are committed to participatg the Modern Apprenticeship programme as a positive way of future planng and fillg any impendg skills gaps. Borders College look forward to our contued partnership with Waverly Housg to support future opportunities for young people the Scottish Borders. Opportunities for your busess Page 2

3 5 mutes with former apprentice Rachel Hunter ON COMPLETION of her MA Busess and Admistration Rachel successfully secured a full time position as Housg Assistant with Waverley Housg. This is what Rachel has to say about her journey... What made you choose to do a Modern Apprenticeship? The modern apprenticeship was a great opportunity to learn and develop with an organisation whilst completg a college course. This was an opportunity I could not miss out on. I knew the busess and admistration course would open up doors for career development. What were you dog prior to your Modern Apprenticeship? Prior to the modern apprenticeship I was at college, half way through the Early Education and child care course; I had been at college for 5 months but I was not sure if it was the right choice for me. I noticed the apprenticeship advertised on Waverley Housg s Facebook page and took the plunge to apply I had nothg to lose and I now know it was the right choice for me. What did you learn? My apprenticeship was with the housg department of the organisation helpg the customer service and allocations team. I had a lot to learn because of the wide variety of phone calls received, and large varied work load; however this proved easier than first thought. I learned how to use new systems order to carry out my work and learned how the organisation operated. The varied work enabled me to gather evidence quickly. What would you say are the benefits to dog a Modern Apprenticeship? One of the benefits of dog a modern apprenticeship is that you learn how the organisation operates as well as completg a college course at the same time, and gettg paid. What do you see yourself dog 5 years time? In 5 years time I see myself as a Housg Officer, the next step up from a Housg Assistant. Would you recommend a Modern Apprenticeship to others? Yes I would recommend a modern apprenticeship to others; although you are workg with an organisation and not at the college you have the support from your tutor every step of the way; either by , phone call or visit. Workg hard throughout my modern apprenticeship has allowed me to develop my career already and I thk this is because of the opportunity to learn with the organisation. Steven Drummond Joery apprentice JOINERY APPRENTICE Steven Drummond is now mid-way through the 2nd year of his apprenticeship but his joery journey started a few years back while still at school. Durg his 4th year at Hawick High School Steven chose an option to attend Borders College 2 half days per week to study Construction and Buildg Skills, this then led onto Steven enrollg on a full time Carpentry and Joery course on leavg school a couple of years later. Steven secured his apprenticeship with Waverly Housg just a few months after completg his full time college course. His time at college was a key factor Steven securg his apprenticeship, as not only had he developed the basic skills and knowledge carpentry and joery, his approach to his work had not gone unnoticed by his college lecturers, resultg a glowg reference. Before startg his apprenticeship Steven was no stranger to the world of work. Havg worked Morrisons supermarket around his school and college timetables, as well as carryg out work placements with 2 different Joery companies, Steven really has been developg those key employability skills from a young age. He also believes that workg a customer facg role from such a young age has really helped his confidence when dealg with colleagues and tenants. Steven commented that workg for a housg association his work can often differ from other joery apprentices as he works mostly on stallation of kitchens and wdows, or property repairs and matenance. However he believes this gives him the best of both worlds as his employer is more than happy to arrange for him to spend some time out on site with another company to ensure he gets the widest experience possible. When asked if he would recommend an MA to a friend, Steven said defitely, but you have to put the effort and work hard he also said to get the most out of it you should never be afraid to ask if you are unsure. Steven really enjoys his work with Waverley Housg and likes how each week is different from the last. When asked where he sees himself the future he said he d love if a job became available. He has also seen colleagues who also started out as apprentices progress up the career ladder and takg on more responsibilities, which is somethg he defitely aspires to himself. Opportunities for your busess Page 3

4 Former Healthcare Support apprentice Jane Short BREAKING THE perception that all Modern Apprentices were those of the younger generation is Jane Short, who completed her MA as a Healthcare Support Worker (Clical) with the NHS at Borders General Hospital. Jane was formed that she could run her MA parallel to the Opportunities for your busess Page 4 completion of her SVQ3 and decided she had nothg to lose. When you hear about apprenticeships, the first thg you thk of is that they are for younger people. However when I was formed that there was fundg and I could complete my award then I was delighted of the opportunity. Back 2002, after a heart valve operation, Jane was lyg her hospital bed thkg she would like to be as helpful as the nurses who provided care for her and set out to try and ga a career the care sector. She started with the NHS on the Nurse Bank 2005 before gag employment on the Medical Assessment Unit 2010 where she has remaed and would love to rema until her retirement. Jane was comfortable completg all the units by gatherg evidence and writg testimonies as she was not new to the job and is very competent her role, but when it came to her updatg her Core Skills of numeracy and ITC, she found this quite challengg. Computers are not my strong pot at all so I didn t like dog this and it was very stressful. However, with the excellent support from College staff, I managed to achieve my pass rate which I was delighted about. Becomg more confident the use of computers has benefitted Jane her role because she uses this new skill for admittg patients to the Acute Assessment Unit. It has really helped me because usg the computers to admit patients is somethg that I thought I d never be able to do, but now I can thanks to my MA. Havg now completed her MA, Jane is adamant that it is an excellent experience and would recommend it to anyone who has the same opportunity as she did. It s great to get the award but the learng on the job and gag crucial knowledge is valuable and I would recommend it to any auxiliary or young person so they can learn from the offset.

5 NHS Borders develops future workforce with MAs JOYCE GERRARD is a Staff Nurse on the Medical Assessment Unit and is a colleague of Jane Short. Joyce is a long-time admirer of the Modern Apprenticeship Programme and feels that the benefits to this are you get to work on the ward while lkg it to the learng. You carry out your duty of care and you also realise the theory behd it. This helps staff become traed to the required level which meets competencies. After overseeg numerous MA s, Joyce feels that it not only benefits the candidate, but also the NHS. Havg both young and older candidates is great because the young ones are workg towards somethg and have fresh ideas, while although the older candidates are achievg the same objective, they have more life skills so this is an array of experience across the wards. This kd of employment has proven to benefit employers and it is somethg that Joyce would wholeheartedly recommend to other organisations. It is great as it is another way of improvg the workforce and on top of the learng the candidates are also volved the trag opportunities for all employees. This means they are up-skillg to meet the need of the organisation to contue to improve the service to the public. Head of Service, Trag & Professional Development of NHS Borders, Helen Clkscale commented, NHS Borders benefits from a varied employee base, reflectg the diversity of the population. This diversity enables NHS Borders to address both the need for socially responsible recruitment and to meet the needs of the service. Employg young people particular represents an vestment the future of NHS Borders and contributes to the NHS Borders Corporate Objective Improve the Health of our Population. The Modern Apprentice programme is part of the Government s commitment to help all learners secure trag and job opportunities and will ensure that NHS Borders has the skills and competence required for the present and future. NHS Borders highly values the employability skills developed through vocational education routes. Opportunities for your busess Page 5

6 Farne Salmon and Trout AS ONE of the largest private employers the Scottish Borders, managers at Farne Salmon & Trout know a thg or two about recruitg and retag a highly traed workforce. However, recruitg and retag skilled engeers has always proven 1st year Engeerg apprentices Damian Clowes (left) and Lewis McLachlan (right) extremely difficult, which was one of the reasons that has led them down the Modern Apprentice route. Supportg the MA programme also aligns itself nicely to the company s approach to develop from with, providg all their people an opportunity to grow and develop. Aileen Firth, Resourcg Manager at Farne Salmon & Trout commented we feel that offerg MA s allows us to progress and develop our people, and people who have come through their apprenticeships with us are very loyal and are good advocates for the scheme. Movg forward the company will contue to support the scheme and are workg extremely hard with local schools to develop pathways from school to employment. 1st year Engeerg apprentices tell us their story FARNE SALMON AND TROUT currently employ 5 Engeerg Apprentices rangg from 1st year through to 4th year. 20 year old Damian Clowes and 18 year old Lewis McLachlan are mid-way through their 1st year but both had very different routes leadg them to their apprenticeships. Lewis successfully secured his apprenticeship on completg his 6th year at Eyemouth High School. Initially he had hoped to become an engeer the Navy, however after sufferg a rugby jury his dream of jog the forces was no longer an option. Not lettg this deter him, he had heard that Farne Salmon were currently recruitg Engeerg Apprentices so quickly submitted a letter of application......and the rest is history! Opportunities for your busess Page 6 Damian on the other hand did not start his apprenticeship direct from school, and fact spent 12 months workg a production role with the company before startg his apprenticeship last year. When Damian relocated to the Borders from his hometown of Stoke, his priority was to ga full time work which he successfully gaed through his production role. However, durg a route one to one with Trag Manager Ros Hall, Damian dicated that he would be keen to develop his career an engeerg direction, so was encouraged to apply for this apprenticeship when it came up soon after......aga the rest is history! Both Damian and Lewis really enjoy workg at Farne and more importantly enjoyg beg paid to learn! They really enjoy the practical side of workg the factory, but both realise the importance of gag the overall qualification. Damian commented I really enjoy both the challenge and the job satisfaction from gettg the les back up and runng and Lewis commented all of the engeers we work with are really supportive, and most have been apprentices themselves so they understand what the process is. The 1st year of the Engeerg Apprenticeship is spent full time college, however both Damian and Lewis have chosen to work alternative weekends the factory which is really helpg them to put their learng to practice. In addition to their college course, both apprentices will be given the opportunity to do further trag specific to the machery they are workg with the factory to further enhance their skills and knowledge.

7 Scottish Borders Council SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL were the first organisation this region to employ Customer Service Modern Apprentices and with a combation of support and trag from SBC and completg their SVQ Level 2 Customer Service delivered by Borders College, three Modern Apprentices have now successfully completed their Level 2 Customer Service Modern Apprenticeships with the organisation. Carol Anderson, Locality Team Leader for Customer Services and Neighbourhood Services based Hawick mentored Modern Apprentice, Kathryn Wallace who after completg her Modern Apprenticeship is now workg full-time as a Customer Service Advisor at the Galashiels office. Carol was asked what made her decide to employ a Modern Apprentice I felt that it would be good to employ a modern apprentice as I feel young people need a chance to get the experience and qualifications necessary for them to ga employment and they brg many benefits to the organisation. One of the ma benefits of the Apprenticeship Programme is that it provides skilled workers that we need gog forward. Both of our MA s have gone on to secure temporary positions with my Department. I also feel the Modern Apprentices brg fresh, new ideas which can help improve the way we work and they make a valuable contribution to the busess durg their trag period. Another one of the benefits is the fact they are learng the workplace which cuts down on the time they are out the office attendg college etc. I would certaly employ more Modern Apprentices the future and would recommend this type of employment to other organisations. Former apprentice Kathryn was asked what made her choose a Modern Apprenticeship. She replied I had recently left University and was workg the Co-op and a family member highlighted the opportunity at Scottish Borders Council; I looked onle and decided to apply. Would she recommend this way of trag to others I enjoyed trag to do a job whilst gag customer service skills which are very relevant to the job and I have now secured a full-time job as a Customer Services Advisor at Scottish Borders Council. When asked what her long term goals were Kathryn answered I am happy workg at the Council, I m not sure what I would like to do long term but I know that havg this qualification should benefit me with whatever I decide to do. Borders College also have students available for Work Placement a wide range of subject areas. For more formation, please contact Joanne George, Employer Engagement Co-ordator. Tel: or jgeorge@borderscollege.ac.uk. Opportunities for your busess Page 7

8 Foundation Apprenticeships A new addition to the apprenticeship family, Foundation Apprenticeships are helpg to ensure that even more young people have the experience they need and the skills employers want. Lastg for two years, they are available to pupils fifth year and are taken alongside their other school subjects like National 5s or Highers. As well as spendg time at college they ll also spend time with employers like you gag hands on experience and demonstratg competence a real workplace. Why should you get volved deliverg Foundation Apprenticeships? Developed partnership with dustry, Foundation Apprenticeships are a great way for young people to broaden their options and get a taste of their potential career before they ve left school. By deliverg the work-based elements of a Foundation Apprenticeship you will work partnership with the college to develop the next generation. Foundation Apprenticeship employers are better able to identify and reta fresh talent with the skills their busess needs, and therefore could be part of your succession planng strategy. A Foundation Apprenticeship is set at SCQF level 6 (the same level as a Higher), is dustry-recognised and enables young people to complete elements of a Modern Apprenticeship before they leave school. So if your organisation is already volved Modern Apprenticeships, it allows you to identify high performg young people who can go on to complete a fast-track Modern Apprenticeship savg you time and money. Borders College will be deliverg the followg Foundation Apprenticeships from August 2017: Busess Skills Social Services and Healthcare Children and Young People Planng has already begun to add further dustry areas to this provision the future. For more formation can also be found by visitg Thkg of takg on a Modern Apprentice? The College delivers a wide variety of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities across Edburgh, Lothians and the Borders. We work with employers to develop appropriate trag programmes to suit their organisational needs. As part of our Modern Apprenticeship contract we can offer a learng programme that is wholly work based, day release or block release at college combed with work based assessment to ensure busess needs are met and employees take advantage of their chance to upskill and develop their job roles. Our current Modern Apprenticeship contract not only helps young people to learn on the job and assist meetg the targets set out the Developg the Young Workforce Strategy but provides opportunities for existg staff to benefit from funded trag and ensure workforce development opportunities are open to any ages and ensures lifelong learng routes for all. The College currently delivers Modern Apprenticeship opportunities : Management Busess Admistration Customer Service Social Services Childcare Social Services Social Care Food Preparation & Cookg Gamekeepg Horticulture Mixed Farmg Automotive We are happy to come and talk to you about the many opportunities the College has to assist developg your workforce through a wide range of funded terventions from Foundation & Modern Apprenticeships to short course provision tailored to the developg needs of your busess. Opportunities If you would like to fd out more about how to employ a Modern Apprentice please contact our Busess Development Unit. Telephone: or bdu@borderscollege.ac.uk for your busess Page 8