Meet the Foundation Apprentices

Hannah & Kirsty, Business Skills Foundation Apprentices at Ayrshire College

Hannah Carling and Kirsty Murray, age 17 and 16 from Greenwood Academy in Irvine, are Business Skills Foundation Apprentices at Ayrshire College, and will be working with the Marketing Team as part of their experience.

Read their blog to find out about their time so far in the Marketing team...

What’s a Foundation Apprenticeship?

Foundation Apprenticeships are courses designed for S5 pupils to combine school learning, college learning and work experience.

How did we get involved in the Foundation Apprenticeship?

Hannah - An assembly took place in school and Ayrshire College came along and spoke about all the different courses and apprenticeships we could apply for this year. I was interested in the Business Skills Foundation Apprenticeship so I applied online at home and got accepted for an interview.

Kirsty - There was a school talk about it and I got really interested in the course. I researched more about it on the website and in the book. Then I applied online, in school with the help of the careers advisor. We sent away my application and I was asked to come to an interview at the Kilwinning Campus. After the interview I was accepted.

Hannah - The interview was simple, I was unsure if I would get accepted or not but luckily I did. It was an interview with one of the lecturers I currently have and we chatted for 5-10 minutes about why I wanted to do the course and my qualifications, I also had to complete a quick questionnaire to test my literacy and numeracy skills but it was really easy.

Being a Foundation Apprentice

Kirsty - It’s quite varied because on Tuesday we go to Kilwinning Campus and we focus on admin, mainly Microsoft Word, and HR with our different lecturers. On a Thursday we come to our work placement in the Kilmarnock Campus for the marketing department where we do many things, for example: we help organise events, we help out the staff if they need anything completed and we learn and experience all the different roles within the marketing department.

Hannah - When in the work placement we learn about answering emails, communicating on the phone and organising events. We get two full days out of school, I feel that it is a good breakup from normal school days and you also get to learn new things and make new friends that aren’t in my school which is good.

Kirsty - I just think that it is something a bit different that not many people our age have done as well as school. The course will give me the skills that I need to complete tasks and jobs similar to this in the future, it gives me experience that I wouldn’t get from sitting in the classroom at school.

Hannah - It is quite difficult at first coping with school and the Foundation Apprenticeship. I get a lot of private study periods and I have to do work at home. I feel that this course gives me good experiences for working in the real world as I have to juggle my responsibilities. It allows me to see the opportunities outside of school as well and the skills required for being in the workplace.

Kirsty - I feel this apprenticeship has helped me a lot as I wasn’t very confident when I was in school before and I struggled to talk to different people but after the few weeks that I’ve been in the course it’s really helped boost my confidence. I’ve had to speak to people over the phone, via email and in the office. My communication skills have really improved.

Advice

Hannah - If you are considering or even interested in doing a Foundation Apprenticeship next year, I would say do it but you need to make sure you consider the subjects you take as you do miss two full days of class. You will need to be able to catch up on your own and be able to do any work for college. However, the course is good fun and you get a lot out of it so I would recommend doing it.

Kirsty - Go for it, just do it. It’s so different to school, it’s more about you being responsible for your own learning but also learning loads from others about the world of work.

Future Plans

Hannah - I don’t have any future plans right now but possibly a Modern Apprenticeship if this Foundation Apprenticeship goes well.

Kirsty - I’m not entirely sure but I think in the future I would like to do a Modern Apprenticeship and I feel that this course would help give me the skills and knowledge that I will need to complete one. I would much rather work straight away and learn on the job than go to University and sit in a classroom.

Read more about Foundation Apprenticeships here