Sixteen new apprentices have been employed as part of East Dunbartonshire Council’s popular award-winning Apprenticeship Programme.
East Dunbartonshire has recruited Modern Apprentices in the following departments; Streetscene Environmental, Roads and Civils, Youth Work, Early Years, Building Standards, Operational Procurement and Supply Chain, Digital Communications and two Graduate Apprentices studying for a Masters of Accountancy. These Apprentices come from all over East Dunbartonshire: Twechar, Kirkintilloch, Bearsden, Torrance and Bishopbriggs.
The programme has now been running for ten years and has given more than 100 young people the opportunity to learn and gain experience throughout the scheme.
The new Apprentices joined the Council in August and were welcomed by Council Leader Gordan Low and Chief Executive, Gerry Cornes.
Councillor Low said, “I am happy to congratulate all of our new apprentices who have joined the programme. I am confident they will gain excellent knowledge and experience over the next two years. The scheme offers training, work experience and college based learning. It is a modern route into a work environment and has been very successful with young people. I wish all of our apprentices the best experience and hope they enjoy their time with the Council.”
Seventeen year old Luke Stevenson from Kirkintilloch has started his Graduate Apprentice Masters of Accountancy.
He said, "I was first attracted to this role as I felt I had the qualities to be the best candidate. I thought an apprenticeship would be most beneficial to learning the role of an accountant than just going to University. Since joining East Dunbartonshire Council everyone has been really helpful and welcoming. Working here has given me hands-on experience within the finance team. I am learning something new every day. I am also well supported and given lots of time for my studies."
Destiny Tait, 17, from Twechar, is embarking on an Early Years Modern Apprenticeship.
She said “I was attracted to this role as I have always been interested in working with young children since the start of secondary school. My experience in starting my placement has been amazing, all the staff have been really welcoming and supportive of what I want to achieve and I have settled in well. Through working here I believe one benefit is that I'm learning something new all the time either from a member of staff or from the children themselves. Another benefit is that it gives me more experience working with children with different levels of needs and will provide me with a lot of examples of situations that I may be asked about in interviews.”
Eighteen year old Katie, joins the Council as a Digital Communications Modern Apprentice.
She said, "This apprenticeship appealed to me as it allowed me to both work and learn. With all the changes in digital communications there are lots of opportunities to gain more qualifications and experiences. I was really pleased to find out that I had got an apprenticeship with the Council. Everyone has been very welcoming and helpful and I have learnt so much from my team already. I am so excited to be starting with the Council."