Additional Allocation for Foundation Apprenticeships

The Comhairle has made additional allocation within the Foundation Apprenticeship Programme to meet the changing demand COVID-19 has brought within Education.

 Foundation Apprenticeships provide the appropriate underpinning knowledge and experience to enable young people to progress to a modern and graduate apprenticeship programmes within the local economy and nationally. 

Additional spaces have been made available on the following eight Foundation Apprenticeships, they will be available to pupils entering S4 and S5 in 2020 - in Castlebay School, Sgoil Lionacleit, Sir E Scott School and The Nicolson Institute. 

Business Skills

If you like ICT, Business Management and working with people, a career in business might be for you.

Creative & Digital Media

(delivered in both English and Gàidhlig)

Does working in film, TV, Radio, publishing, or on computer games and online media appeal to you? If so, why not gain skills and qualifications in creative & digital media.

Engineering

Interested in engineering? If you would like to be involved in engineering-operations and systems, then this is the apprenticeship for you.

Food and Drink Technologies

The growing food and drink industry locally and nationally serves a wide selection of exciting career opportunities from food science to environmental health.

Social Services Children and Young People

Do you enjoy working with young people, making sure they stay healthy and happy? Then this is the apprenticeship for you – with a huge demand for skilled people in this sector with ample job opportunities and career progression pathways open on completion of the programme.

Social Services and HealthCare

Are you interested in a career in caring? This could be the one for you - get real life experience in the care sector that will allow you to work in the industry straight from school, progress to an SVQ 3 through the Modern Apprenticeship, or progress to a vocational degree such as Nursing or Social Work.

ICT Software

This is a career designed to meet the ever changing digital world. Is this for you?  Are you interested in finding out what the skills requirement is to create, software for gaming, virtual reality or cyber technology?  If so, this apprenticeship route is for you. Gain the skills, qualification and work experience that will equip you to work in the industry, move into a Modern Apprenticeship or go onto Further/Higher Education.

Gaelic

Are you interested in a career in Gaelic? If so a Foundation Apprenticeship is for you. To meet the local employment opportunities, the Foundation Apprenticeship in Social Services and HealthCare, ChildCare and Creative Digital Media is offered through both the medium of English and Gaelic.

One Year Delivery Model  

This year, we are offering one year Foundation Apprenticeships in Business, Social Services and HealthCare and ChildCare. These have been chosen as a direct response to the needs of these sectors and to equip our pupils with the skills and accreditation required to meet the future job opportunities in our communities.

Cllr Angus McCormack, Chairman of Education, Skills and Children’s Services said:

“This funding, supported by our charter development programme with Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Bòrd na Gàidhlig (BnG), Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) programme and European Structural Funding (ESF) funding application, provides a major opportunity for local economic development, education, training and employment opportunities for our young people. I would encourage young people who may be looking to go to university or into graduate placements, to consider the exciting opportunities that are presented through this scheme.

“For each of the past five years, young people have left CnES schools with SQA vocational qualifications at SCQF5 at three times the national average.  Concordantly post-school positive and sustained destinations, particularly into employment and university, are high.”

Dolina Smith, Apprenticeship Manager said:

“Foundation Apprenticeships offer young people in the Western Isles the chance to develop the future skills needed to grow the local economy.  They also provide a new and innovative career pathway which encourages more young people to stay on the islands with the offer of a job closer to home.

Foundation Apprenticeships are closing the gap between the classroom and the workplace, with pupils realising the benefits of work-based learning. Employers are telling us that pupils who have taken a Foundation Apprenticeship are more job ready and better qualified candidates for apprenticeships and jobs.”

Anyone interested can get in touch via phone or email:

Tel.: 01851822840

Tel.: 07866915153

e-Mail: apprenticeships@cne-siar.gov.uk