The first senior pupils from North East schools to apply for the new Foundation Apprenticeship programme attended information sessions at North East Scotland College’s (NESCol) Fraserburgh and Aberdeen City Campuses last week.
Foundation Apprenticeships are now available to pupils entering the fifth year of school and are equivalent in grade to that of a Higher. Over two years pupils will receive a blend of College, school and work-based learning. NESCol will offer Foundation Apprenticeships in Children and Young People; Engineering; ICT Hardware and Health and Social Care.
Around 30 pupils from pilot schools in both Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire were introduced to apprenticeship course content, lecturers and industry partners. This was followed by a tour of the college facilities they will access during their time at College in the first year.
Ken Milroy, chair of NESCol Board of Management welcomed pupils, parents and school representatives. He highlighted the benefits of gaining industry recognised qualifications alongside the development of skills through work based learning whilst continuing to study towards school based qualifications.
Each foundation apprenticeship has been designed in partnership with industry to make sure that young people get the skills and knowledge they need. In the classroom pupils will cover the theory behind each role and in the second year they apply what they have learnt into the workplace. This vocational experience will help pupils make the transition from school into employment or into further or higher education.
The SCQF Level 6 qualifications gained are based on existing industry-recognised qualifications including Scottish Vocational Qualifications (SVQs) and National Certificates.
Shelley Mackenzie, schools liaison manager for NESCol says, “The launch was a fantastic success with a high level of parental engagement and some very motivated, positive and driven pupils who are fully on board with the concept, as were their parents after the conversations we had with them.”
Across Scotland there are currently 300 pupils studying towards Foundation Apprenticeships and this is targeted to rise to 1000 in August 2016.