Building on the success of our first Apprentice Ambassador visit to Webster’s High School in Kirriemuir
in November, our Apprentice Ambassadors were back in action this week with visits to Harris Academy
in Dundee to deliver class talks and take part in group discussions with S3 pupils.

A huge range of industry sectors were represented, which included; IT, Legal, Business Services, Automotive Industry, Engineering, Construction, Local Authorities and Dundee & Angus College. Pupils were not only able to learn about modern apprenticeships but also about the new Graduate Apprenticeships which are now available in Scotland. Our newly trained Graduate Apprentices who were taking part for this first time as Apprentice Ambassadors were able to speak with pupils about how the graduate apprenticeship programme works in detail which provided a valuable insight for the pupils.

Starting last Friday at Michelin Training School, a new batch of Apprentice Ambassadors which included 14 new Graduate Apprentices, went through an initial training session on how to prepare and tell their own personal story of their journey towards their apprenticeship and what skills and experience they have gained from it. They were also given practical tips on public speaking techniques and how to cope with nerves when speaking to large groups.

On Tuesday and Thursday this week, our DYW Team along with over 30 Modern and Graduate
Apprentices went into Harris Academy and spoke with pupils. The sessions started out with each Apprentice Ambassador taking turns to introduce themselves to tell their individual story about why they chose to do their respective apprenticeships and the various benefits it has brought them.

Pupils then split into smaller groups and the Apprentice Ambassadors chatted with pupils more informally, answering questions about apprenticeships and passing on valuable advice and tips about how to access apprenticeships and sharing their first-hand experience of what is involved.

These sessions are extremely important in raising awareness of the various types of apprenticeships available to young people in Dundee & Angus and enabling them to consider an apprenticeship as a possible option for them post school.

Feedback from pupils and teachers was excellent, with the general feeling being that having current and former apprentices into school to speak with pupils was extremely valuable and has definitely raised awareness and changed perceptions about apprenticeships.

We have now trained 41 Apprentice Ambassadors and 38 have already been in to deliver these sessions to schools, which is a fantastic contribution to the project!

We would like to thank all of the Apprentice Ambassadors who have been involved so far in making this project such as a success, as well as their employers. These include: Robertson, Dundee City Council, Angus Council, Dundee & Angus College, Thorntons Law, Michelin, Interplex Engineering, Arnold Clark, University of Dundee, GX, NHS Tayside, Church of Scotland, BannTech, Caldeonia Housing.

We are not done yet though . . .
Our Apprentice Ambassador Programme is going to be continuing to be rolled out to Schools across Dundee and Angus with other visits planned for the coming months. Keep an eye out for further developments!