Foundation Apprenticeships give learners a solid platform to work from

Thursday 08 August 2024

Foundation Apprentice Sarah-Jane McKeown is pictured with Sarah McKnight (L) and Caroline Bell (R)

Foundation Apprenticeships give learners the opportunity to gain experience of the workplace and achieve a valuable qualification while still being at school. Those are the views of three young people from Dumfries, who have been working towards Foundation Apprenticeships in Creative and Digital Media in S5 and S6.

Foundation Apprenticeships are one of the work-based learning opportunities available to many senior phase learners. This year-to-date has seen 1,138 Foundation Apprenticeships achieved.

For the past year S5 pupil Sarah-Jane McKeown and former S6 pupils Maya Windsor and August Wildner have been working with local employers building their skills and experience and developing an understanding of the demands of the workplace.

Foundation Apprenticeships are a work-based learning opportunity for secondary school pupils usually starting in S5. Young people can spend time out of school with a local employer and complete the Foundation Apprenticeship alongside their more traditional courses like National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers.

Sarah McKnight, Principal Teacher of Foundation Apprenticeships at Dumfries and Galloway Council, believes that learners who undertake a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 or S6 are well prepared for the next stage in their learning as a result of completing the course.

Sarah said: “A Foundation Apprenticeship allows young people to study in class and gain valuable work experience at the same time. Our learners get to take their education training out of school and work closely with an employer.”

Sarah Dalrymple, Director of SDC-Learn – a training provider who assesses the work-based elements of the qualification – says that young people who achieve a Foundation Apprenticeship, develop skills that are highly sought after by colleges, universities, and employers.

Sarah said: “The skills that the young people develop are really important. They have had to go into a workplace, work with other staff and employees, manage their time, and deliver on tasks that they are set. These are all really valuable skills that stand apart from what they’re learning in school and will help them at the next stage in their education or training.”

Sarah McKnight adds: “We’ve found that lots of our learners on the Creative and Digital Media Foundation Apprenticeship have been given unconditional offers from the colleges and universities that they have applied to because of the practical experiences they have developed. It’s really helped them stand out from other applicants.”

Caroline Bell, Director of Clear As A Bell Marketing in Dumfries, is one of the local employers who offered placement opportunities to Foundation Apprentices. Caroline said: “Once I spoke to Sarah McKnight, it was clear there was work to be done promoting Foundation Apprenticeships to other learners across the region, and I was keen to support it where I could.

“I worked with Foundation Apprentices at The Bridge in Dumfries and helped them develop a campaign promoting qualification to other learners. They developed a plan, secured a budget, liaised with partner organisations, and helped come up with creative and editorial activities to promote the course to other students.”

Sarah added: “The multi-disciplinary nature of the work they did gave the Foundation Apprentices a great insight into what it’s like to work in a marketing and communications environment and gave them first-hand experience of the sort of tasks they would be expected to do for an employer.”

Sarah-Jane, who attends Dumfries High School, said: “I want to study Sports Journalism at university, so when I heard about what the Foundation Apprenticeship offered and the sort of work I would be doing as part of it, I really wanted to get involved.”

Maya, a former pupil of St Joseph’s College in Dumfries, added: “The Foundation Apprenticeship really opened doors for me. It gave me a really good sense of the sort of work I could be doing when I’m older and made me realise this is what I want to do in the future.”

Duncan Curtis, Academy Lead at Alive Radio in Dumfries hosted student August Wildner as part of his Foundation Apprenticeship, focusing on Audio Production. Duncan said: “Providing the placement for the Foundation Apprenticeship has offered a route for young people into our industry. It gives them the opportunity to gain experience of a working radio station and develop technical skills. They get a real sense of the sort of work we do in the studio, and if they love it, it will give them a real sense of direction for where they want to go next.”

August, who also attended St Joseph’s College said: “My Foundation Apprenticeship was timetabled alongside my other subjects, so it just became a normal part of my school day. The apprenticeship has really helped me decide on what it is I want to do after school. I’m going on to study Sound Engineering at university.”

Caroline Hunter, National Manager for SQA, said: “A Foundation Apprenticeship is a different way of learning; it gives young people a qualification, and the experience employers are looking for, all while still being at school.

Caroline adds: “A Foundation Apprenticeship gives young people a chance to gain valuable experience of the workplace, develop their practical and interpersonal skills, enhance their CV or their personal statement and help them decide what they want to do after school, whether that’s going on to college or university, entering into a training programme such as a Modern Apprenticeship or going straight into employment.”

More information on Foundation Apprenticeships can be found here on our website.