#NoWrongPath - Eilidh McFarlane
#NoWrongPath - Eilidh McFarlane
“I left school at 16 years old to commence a Hairdressing Apprenticeship where I had been previously working on a Saturday. During this time I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to gain experience on other aspects of running a business and on completion, I decided to pursue going to college to gain a qualification in Business and Accountancy.
During this time I developed a real passion for this and had a job opportunity in a local accountancy firm to work within the payroll department. For three years, I built up payroll skills, knowledge, and experience training members of staff, managing my own clients and progressed to become a senior within the firm. Whilst I was gaining lots of experience I also wanted to gain a qualification so I made the decision to self-fund a foundation degree in Payroll Management through the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals.
I had seen the job at Hillcrest for a new Payroll Team Leader advertised and decided to apply following this. In June 2021 I successfully obtained the position. Although, I did not have previous experience managing staff, Hillcrest looked at other qualities and invested in the opportunity to train me through this experience. As I was approaching my final year of my degree, Hillcrest offered to financially support me through this and have been fully supportive and involved in me enhancing my learning. Since being at Hillcrest I have had lots of opportunities for development and have since been given the opportunity to Project Management a change in software for Payroll, HR and Learning and Development Team. Being a young person has never been a barrier in Hillcrest and I have never felt so valued, invested in and optimistic about the opportunities that my future holds.”
-Eilidh McFarlane, Payroll Team Leader, Hillcrest
An Open Letter to Young People
An Open Letter to Young People
We wanted to write to you in our role as Scotland’s business leaders and on behalf of our networks of thousands of Scottish employers to reassure you of our commitment and support no matter what path you follow.
As employers we recognise the challenges you have faced over the last two years and take great confidence in the ingenuity and resilience shown to overcome them.
We want to reassure you that we recognise and value your qualifications as much as any other year and that the skills you have developed, and will continue to develop, will play a crucial role in ensuring a bright future for businesses in Scotland and our economy.
We are committed to creating job opportunities for you so that you can have a positive future. Scotland is fortunate in having a wide range of industries offering many exciting jobs for you to consider for your future career. There are lots of industries continuing to grow and new ones emerging which offer opportunities across all of Scotland. Employers will continue to need young people with fresh ideas and experience to get involved and work together with us.
We recognise there are many different high quality pathways available as you take your next steps and we stand ready to help you take advantage of opportunities to help realise your full potential. We encourage you to be curious, explore all available opportunities, look at different sectors and what they can offer and take the time needed to consider the decisions that will support your future careers.
We all support the ambition of the Young Person’s Guarantee and its commitment to support every young person aged between 16 and 24, will have the opportunity of a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme or volunteering.
Wishing you the very best of luck with your next steps.
Signed
Sandy Begbie, CEO, Scottish Financial Enterprise
Marc Crothall, CEO, Scottish Tourism Alliance
Damien Yeates, CEO, Skills Development Scotland
James Withers, CEO, Scotland Food and Drink
Dr Liz Barron-Majerik, Director, LANTRA
Lee Ann Panglea, Head of CIPD Scotland and Northern Ireland, CIPD
Tracy Black, Director Scotland, CBI
Fiona Hodgson, CEO, SNIPEF Training Services
David Lonsdale, Director, Scottish Retail Consortium
Karen Betts, CEO, Scotch Whisky Association
Martin Crewe, Director, Barnardo’s
Liz Cameron, CEO, Scottish Chambers of Commerce
Sara Thiam, CEO, Scottish Council for Development and Industry
Paul Carberry, Director for Scotland, Action for Children
Iain MacRitchie, Founder and Chair, MCR Pathways
Anne Wexelstein, Director for Scotland, Career Ready
Celia Tennant, Chief Executive, Inspiring Scotland
Tim Balcon, Chief Executive, CITB