opportunities for your business - borders college · in opportunities for your business | page 2...

inOpportunities for your business | #Involve@BC

Opportunities for your business

Issue 3 March 2017 Charity Number SC021180 www.borderscollege.ac.uk

in volveDevelop the next generation of talent with Modern Apprenticeships AS A NEW PRINCIPAL, I have

been impressed by the existing strong partnerships Borders College has with our local businesses which supports the development of our students. Thank you for your commitment. It really does make a huge difference in ensuring we are developing a sustainable future workforce which will benefit the Borders region. Employers have been involved in skills development for hundreds of years, taking pride in passing on their skills and experience which have resulted in economically sustainable communities. The importance of employer led skills development needs to have parity of esteem with academic learning and so the focus and investment in Modern Apprenticeships is welcome. As well as high economic return of £21 for every £1 spent on training an apprentice (according to CEBR), research shows that apprentices are more likely to be retained by their employer for longer. In ensuring our region continues to be competitive in a global and rapidly changing economy, this investment in creating a highly skilled workforce for the future is essential. I hope you find this Apprenticeship focussed edition of Involve informative and perhaps encourage you to consider recruiting an apprentice as part of your workforce. Our business development team would be happy to talk to you about any aspect of your workforce development. Angela Cox – Borders College Principal

Introduction

SCOTLAND’S YOUTH Employment Strategy, Developing the Young Workforce, was set out to achieve a sustainable, industry-led approach to support employers to engage with the education system and to recruit more young people. One way employers can support young people into work is by offering Modern Apprenticeships, and with the Scottish Government committing to 30,000 MA starts by 2020, even more people and employers will now be able to benefit from work based learning and apprenticeships.Modern Apprenticeships are training

programmes that help employers to develop their workforce by training new staff or up-skilling existing employees. With over 80 Modern

Apprenticeship frameworks covering hundreds of roles, your business will gain vital skills and talent while your apprentice gains industry recognised qualifications

based on highly structured training.This publication contains a range of case studies showcasing the positive experiences of both employers and young people in the Borders who are involved in the Modern Apprenticeship Scheme.

Inside:

Page 6Pages 4-5 Page 7

in Opportunities for your business | #Involve@BC

Award winning Waverley Housing 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. Having supported the apprenticeship programme for many of years now, they have provided a number of opportunities to young people in the Scottish Borders. Currently employing six modern apprentices within a variety of roles, Waverley Housing recognise the importance of creating work experience opportunities for young people to help them to develop skills and expertise that will support long term, sustainable employment. However, employing a Modern Apprentice not only provides benefits to the apprentice as Waverley Housing

have experienced many benefits for the organisation. One in particular is the development opportunities for the existing staff who are tasked with mentoring or supervising apprentices, enabling them to develop their own skills. It has also contributed to the organisations workforce planning, as to date they have been able to retain three of their Modern Apprentices on a permanent basis to fill job vacancies. The latter reinforcing 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 into their respective roles within organisation.The programme has gone from strength to strength and has been hugely successful for Waverley Housing. 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 2016’. The visit not only allowed them to promote their continued investment in Developing Scotland’s Young Workforce, but also provided an opportunity to promote their corporate identity and raise their profile within the community.The success of this programme is set to continue as Waverley Housing Chief Executive, Margaret Ross commented ‘our experience to date has been very positive and we are committed to participating in the Modern Apprenticeship programme as a positive way of future planning and filling any impending skills gaps.’Borders College look forward to our continued partnership with Waverly Housing to support future opportunities for young people in the Scottish Borders.


Steven Drummond – Joinery apprenticeJOINERY APPRENTICE Steven Drummond is now mid-way through the 2nd year of his apprenticeship but his joinery journey started a few years back while still at school. During his 4th year at Hawick High School Steven chose an option to attend Borders College 2 half days per week to study Construction and Building Skills, this then led onto Steven enrolling on a full time Carpentry and Joinery course on leaving school a couple of years later. Steven secured his apprenticeship with Waverly Housing just a few months after completing his full time college course.His time at college was a key factor in Steven securing his apprenticeship, as not only had he developed the basic skills and knowledge in carpentry and joinery, his approach to his work had not gone unnoticed by his college

lecturers, resulting in a glowing reference.Before starting his apprenticeship Steven was no stranger to the world of work. Having worked in Morrisons supermarket around his school and college timetables, as well as carrying out work placements with 2 different Joinery companies, Steven really has been developing those key employability skills from a young age. He also believes that working in a customer facing role from such a young age has really helped his confidence when dealing with colleagues and tenants.Steven commented that working for a housing association his work can often differ from other joinery apprentices as he works mostly on installation of kitchens and windows, or property repairs and maintenance. 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 ‘definitely, but you have to put the effort in 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 Housing and likes how each week is different from the last. When asked where he sees himself in 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 taking on more responsibilities, which is something he definitely aspires to himself.

ON COMPLETION of her MA in Business and Administration Rachel successfully secured a full time position as Housing Assistant with Waverley Housing. This is what Rachel has to say about her journey...•WhatmadeyouchoosetodoaModernApprenticeship?

The modern apprenticeship was a great opportunity to learn and develop within an organisation whilst completing a college course. This was an opportunity I could not miss out on. I knew the business and administration course would open up doors for career development. •WhatwereyoudoingpriortoyourModernApprenticeship?

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 Housing’s Facebook page and took the plunge to apply – I had nothing to lose and I now

know it was the right choice for me. •Whatdidyoulearn?My apprenticeship was within the housing department of the organisation – helping 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 in order to carry out my work and learned how the organisation operated. The varied work enabled me to gather evidence quickly.•WhatwouldyousayarethebenefitstodoingaModernApprenticeship?

One of the benefits of doing a modern apprenticeship is that you learn how the organisation operates as well as completing a college course at the same time, and getting paid. •Whatdoyouseeyourselfdoingin5years’time?

In 5 years’ time I see myself as a Housing Officer, the next step up from

a Housing Assistant. •WouldyourecommendaModernApprenticeshiptoothers?

Yes I would recommend a modern apprenticeship to others; although you are working within an organisation and not at the college you have the support from your tutor every step of the way; either by email, phone call or visit. Working hard throughout my modern apprenticeship has allowed me to develop my career already and I think this is because of the opportunity to learn within the organisation.

5 minutes with former apprentice Rachel Hunter


Former Healthcare Support apprentice Jane ShortBREAKING THE perception that all Modern Apprentices were those of the younger generation is Jane Short, who completed her MA as a Healthcare Support Worker (Clinical) within the NHS at Borders General Hospital. Jane was informed that she could run her MA parallel to the

completion of her SVQ3 and decided she had nothing to lose. “When you hear about apprenticeships, the first thing you think of is that they are for younger people. However when I was informed that there was funding and I could complete my award then I was delighted of the opportunity”.

Back in 2002, after a heart valve operation, Jane was lying in her hospital bed thinking she would like to be as helpful as the nurses who provided care for her and set out to try and gain a career in the care sector. She started with the NHS on the Nurse Bank in 2005 before gaining employment on the Medical Assessment Unit in 2010 where she has remained and would love to remain until her retirement.

Jane was comfortable completing all the units by gathering evidence and writing testimonies as she was not new to the job and is very competent in her role, but when it came to her updating her Core Skills of numeracy and ITC, she found this quite challenging. “Computers are not my strong point at all so I didn’t like doing 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.”

Becoming more confident in the use of computers has benefitted Jane in her role because she uses this new skill for admitting patients into the Acute Assessment Unit. “It has really helped me because using the computers to admit patients is something that I thought I’d never be able to do, but now I can thanks to my MA.”

Having 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 learning on the job and gaining crucial knowledge is invaluable and I would recommend it to any auxiliary or young person so they can learn from the offset”.


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 linking it to the learning. “You carry out your duty of care and you also realise the theory behind it. This helps staff become trained to the required level which meets competencies.After overseeing numerous MA’s, Joyce feels that it not only benefits the candidate, but also the NHS. “Having both young and older candidates is great because the young ones are working towards something and have fresh ideas, while although the older candidates are achieving the same

objective, they have more life skills so this is an array of experience across the wards”.This kind of employment has proven to benefit employers and it is something that Joyce would wholeheartedly recommend to other organisations. “It is great as it is another way of improving the workforce and on top of the learning the candidates are also involved in the training opportunities for all employees. This means they are up-skilling to meet the need of the organisation to continue to improve the service to the public.”Head of Service, Training & Professional Development of NHS Borders, Helen Clinkscale commented, “NHS Borders benefits from a varied employee base, reflecting 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. Employing young people in particular represents an investment in 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 training 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”.

NHS Borders develops future workforce with MAs


Farne Salmon and TroutAS ONE of the largest private employers in the Scottish Borders, managers at Farne Salmon & Trout know a thing or two about recruiting

and retaining a highly trained workforce.However, recruiting and retaining skilled engineers has always proven

extremely difficult, which was one of the reasons that has led them down the Modern Apprentice route. Supporting the MA programme also aligns itself nicely to the company’s approach to develop from within, providing all their people an opportunity to grow and develop.Aileen Firth, Resourcing Manager at Farne Salmon & Trout commented ‘we feel that offering 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’.Moving forward the company will continue to support the scheme and are working extremely hard with local schools to develop pathways from school to employment.

1st year Engineering apprentices tell us their storyFARNE SALMON AND TROUT currently employ 5 Engineering Apprentices ranging 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 leading them to their apprenticeships.Lewis successfully secured his apprenticeship on completing his 6th year at Eyemouth High School. Initially he had hoped to become an engineer in the Navy, however after suffering a rugby injury his dream of joining the forces was no longer an option. Not letting this deter him, he had heard that Farne Salmon were currently recruiting Engineering Apprentices so quickly submitted a letter of application... ...and the rest is history!

Damian on the other hand did not start his apprenticeship direct from school, and in fact spent 12 months working in a production role within the company before starting his apprenticeship last year. When Damian relocated to the Borders from his hometown of Stoke, his priority was to gain full time work which he successfully gained through his production role. However, during a routine one to one with Training Manager Ros Hall, Damian indicated that he would be keen to develop his career in an engineering direction, so was encouraged to apply for this apprenticeship when it came up soon after... ...again the rest is history!Both Damian and Lewis really enjoy working at Farne and more importantly enjoying being paid to learn! They really enjoy the practical side of working in the factory, but

both realise the importance of gaining the overall qualification. Damian commented ‘I really enjoy both the challenge and the job satisfaction from getting the lines back up and running’ and Lewis commented ‘all of the engineers we work with are really supportive, and most have been apprentices themselves so they understand what the process is’.The 1st year of the Engineering Apprenticeship is spent full time in college, however both Damian and Lewis have chosen to work alternative weekends in the factory which is really helping them to put their learning into practice. In addition to their college course, both apprentices will be given the opportunity to do further training specific to the machinery they are working with in the factory to further enhance their skills and knowledge.

1styearEngineeringapprenticesDamianClowes(left)andLewisMcLachlan(right)


BordersCollegealsohavestudentsavailableforWorkPlacementinawiderangeofsubjectareas.Formoreinformation,pleasecontactJoanneGeorge,EmployerEngagementCo-ordinator.Tel:[email protected].

SCOTTISH BORDERS COUNCIL were the first organisation in this region to employ Customer Service Modern Apprentices and with a combination of support and training from SBC and completing their SVQ Level 2 in Customer Service delivered by Borders College, three Modern Apprentices have now successfully completed their Level 2 Customer Service Modern Apprenticeships within the organisation. Carol Anderson, Locality Team Leader for Customer Services and Neighbourhood Services based in Hawick mentored Modern Apprentice, Kathryn Wallace who after completing her Modern Apprenticeship is now working 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 gain employment and they bring many benefits to the organisation. One of the main benefits of the Apprenticeship Programme is that it provides skilled workers that we need going forward. Both of our MA’s have gone on to secure temporary

positions within my Department. I also feel the Modern Apprentices bring fresh, new ideas which can help improve the way we work and they make a valuable contribution to the business during their training period. Another one of the benefits is the fact they are learning in the workplace which cuts down on the time they are out the office attending college etc. I would certainly employ more Modern Apprentices in 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

working in the Co-op and a family member highlighted the opportunity at Scottish Borders Council; I looked online and decided to apply”.Would she recommend this way of training to others “I enjoyed training to do a job whilst gaining 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 working at the Council, I’m not sure what I would like to do long term but I know that having this qualification should benefit me with whatever I decide to do”.

Scottish Borders Council


A new addition to the apprenticeship family, Foundation Apprenticeships are helping to ensure that even more young people have the experience they need and the skills employers want.Lasting for two years, they are available to pupils in fifth year and are taken alongside their other school subjects like National 5s or Highers. As well as spending time at college they’ll also spend time with employers – like you – gaining hands on experience and demonstrating competence in a real workplace.Why should you get involved in delivering Foundation Apprenticeships?Developed in partnership with industry, 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 delivering the work-based elements of a Foundation Apprenticeship you will work in partnership with the college to develop the next generation. Foundation Apprenticeship employers are better able to identify and retain fresh talent with the skills their business needs, and therefore could be part of your succession planning strategy.

A Foundation Apprenticeship is set at SCQF level 6 (the same level as a Higher), is industry-recognised and enables young people to complete elements of a Modern Apprenticeship before they leave school. So if your organisation is already involved in Modern Apprenticeships, it allows you to identify high performing young people who can go on to complete a fast-track Modern Apprenticeship – saving you time and money.

Borders College will be delivering the following Foundation Apprenticeships from August 2017:

• BusinessSkills

• SocialServicesandHealthcare

• ChildrenandYoungPeople

Planning has already begun to add further industry areas to this provision in the future.For more information can also be found by visiting www.borderscollege.ac.uk/foundation.

Foundation Apprenticeships

If you would like to find out more about how to employ a Modern Apprentice please contact our Business Development Unit.

Telephone: 01450 361030 or email [email protected]

The College delivers a wide variety of Modern Apprenticeship opportunities across Edinburgh, Lothians and the Borders. We work with employers to develop appropriate training programmes to suit their organisational needs. As part of our Modern Apprenticeship contract we can offer a learning programme that is wholly work based, day release or block release at college combined with work based assessment to ensure business 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 in meeting the targets set out in the Developing the Young Workforce Strategy but provides opportunities for existing staff to benefit from funded training and ensure workforce development opportunities are open to any ages and ensures lifelong learning routes for all.The College currently delivers Modern Apprenticeship opportunities in:•Management• BusinessAdministration• CustomerService

• SocialServices–Childcare• SocialServices–SocialCare• FoodPreparation&Cooking•Gamekeeping•Horticulture•MixedFarming• Automotive

We are happy to come and talk to you about the many opportunities the College has to assist in developing your workforce through a wide range of funded interventions from Foundation & Modern Apprenticeships to short course provision tailored to the developing needs of your business.

Thinking of taking on a Modern Apprentice?

opportunities for your business - borders college · in opportunities for your business | page 2...

Documents