Select has teamed up with the industry’s leading training providers to launch a new video celebrating the many benefits that apprentices bring to businesses, individuals and the economy.
Entitled Business Backing Talent – the theme of Scottish Apprenticeship Week – the film features a young trainee and her employer discussing their respective reasons for choosing an apprenticeship and how the scheme has been a success for both sides.
The video, developed in partnership with the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) and the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), is also designed to salute Scottish businesses’ ongoing commitment to electrical apprenticeships during challenging times.
Fiona Harper, Director of Employment and Skills at Select, and also The Secretary of the SJIB, says: “Apprentices are the future of the industry and in this Scottish Apprenticeship Week we hope this video will help to encourage many more people to consider an electrical apprenticeship as a rewarding career option.”
Anne Galbraith, CEO of SECTT, adds: “We also want to use it as an example of how Scotland’s businesses continue to back talent and support apprenticeships, despite the challenges facing us all in the current climate.”
The video features an interview with Caitlin Kearney, a first-year apprentice at SELECT member company Quinnergy Group in Strathaven, South Lanarkshire, who reveals her reasons for choosing an electrical career.
The 21-year-old trainee says: “I wanted to become a qualified electrician because my grandfather was an electrician and my dad was in the building trade, so I’ve always had that background.
“Most girls say things like ‘it’s a man’s job’ or that you couldn’t do it, so I just wanted to stand out – and go ahead and do it.
“Apprenticeships are the way forward and the future for people leaving school. I’m learning things every day and a trade is the best bet for me.”
Caitlin also talks about the help, advice and guidance she receives from both her SECTT Training Officer and Quinnergy colleagues, who encourage her to push boundaries and provide positive feedback.
Scottish Apprenticeship Week this year runs from 1-5 March and is focusing on how employers and learning providers have embraced innovation to help apprentices learn, achieve and progress.