Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2016

Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2016 is nearly upon us!

For the tragically uninformed among you, the week long 'event' (29 Feb - 4 Mar) is a key point on the calendar for raising awareness of Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland.

At Skills Development Scotland, we bring together employers, training providers, current apprentices, school pupils, the public sector and influential leaders to help the cause.

On Friday, we 'officially' launched the week at Ferguson Marine with the fantastic announcement of 150 new Modern Apprenticeships.

Scale

To get an idea of the scale of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, check out the events already booked. And this isn't even the full picture, as we are still being told about various events happening from the Highlands to the Borders.

This is the sixth Scottish Apprenticeship Week. Since its inception in 2011, the event has grown hugely year on year. For example, in 2014 the hashtag #ScotMAWeek14 was used in just over 3,000 posts. The following year, #ScotMAWeek15 was used in over 6,000 posts and was a trending Twitter topic in Scotland. And this year we're already seeing even more engagement online.

Welcome to the party

We're not content simply to be the organisers of the party either. Our teams, nationwide, are hosting their events to showcase Modern Apprenticeships as a valuable career option for young people. In Moray, our colleagues will host an open day for local school pupils to find out more. Our Equalities Specialists, based in Glasgow, are hosting a free webinar to talk about opportunities for everyone in Modern Apprenticeships.

From Monday morning to Friday afternoon, there are open days aimed at giving secondary pupils apprenticeship taster sessions or employer business breakfasts for discussing the benefits of apprenticeships to business. Check out the full list via scottishapprenticeshipweek.com.

The arguments are simple

The truth is Modern Apprenticeship training is a great way to develop life long skills, work and earn in a real job, and gain a qualification which opens a world of opportunity.

Whatever qualms you may have about Modern Apprenticeships; the length of training, the quality or even the pay - there is such a wide variety of opportunity out there that choice is no longer an issue. Sure, it might take a little bit of time to find those opportunities but perhaps that time spent is better spent than going through the motions at school or university.

For employers, I think the argument is quite simple. You are getting a young person with whom you have an opportunity to invest in the future of your business or industry. Rather than pull in a graduate who is looking at your business as a stepping stone, you could recruit a 16 year old who simply wants to work hard, get qualified and learn everyday.

Follow the action on Twitter with @skillsdevscot, @apprentice_scot and tag your posts with #ScotMAWeek16.