There was plenty of reason to celebrate at last night’s Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
Apprentices and apprenticeship providers from a wide spectrum of industries showcased the amazing work that Scottish apprentices are doing for employers ranging from Volvo Construction to Diageo and NHS Education for Scotland, as well as the young people’s commitment to their apprenticeships during a challenging 12 months.
QA clients Pulsion Technology and Harper Macleod were both finalists, along with QA itself who was shortlisted for the Innovation in Learning Provision award.
QA was commended for rapidly implementing a fully online teaching, learning and assessment model without a single break or reduction in apprentice training when lockdown started. Since 2020, over 2,000 modern apprentices have completed virtual training across 218 courses, which are also accessible to learners who have been furloughed.
And the winners are…
Congratulations to Harper Macleod LLP who won the Promoting Diversity - Large Employer of the Year Award category. Announcing the winner of this category, BBC Scotland sport and entertainment presenter Amy Irons remarked on Harper Macleod’s dedication to opening up apprenticeships for Scotland’s young people, in particular supporting those individuals from more deprived areas into the world of work and positively impacting gender balance and diversity in their own apprenticeship programmes.
Pulsion Technology’s Zoe Valentine was runner-up in the Modern Apprentice of the Year – Level 5 category.
It was fitting that this year the Scottish Apprentice of the Year was Samir Khan-Young, an apprentice who played an active role in delivering PPE. The 25-year-old worked nightshifts for Thales’ Manufacturing Team to produce PPE for NHS frontline workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. The final words on apprenticeships go to Samir:
“100% go for it…The fact that you can learn stuff at college or university and then implement it the next day, getting hands-on experience of how these things actually work, is invaluable.”
QA is proud to have created over 30,000 apprentices. Find out more about our apprenticeship programmes in Scotland and England, listen to a recording of a recent panel discussion with panellists from NatWest, Aggreko and E-Max Systems, or get in touch to discuss your requirements in Scotland or England with one of our apprenticeship team.