Most of us will now have heard of Modern Apprenticeships. The Scottish Government has made great steps to ensure that more places than ever are available for young people with 25,000 apprenticeships on offer in 2015.
A Modern Apprenticeship (MA) is all about learning while you work – and earning at the same time.
At its core, a Modern Apprenticeship is a job. But as well as getting paid, apprentices gain practical work experience as part of a highly structured training programme. At the same time, they work towards a qualification that will really boost their careers.
But what about recognition?
The SCQF is Scotland’s lifelong learning framework. It aims to help individuals understand the level of their learning, to plan their learning pathways and very importantly, to be able to compare qualifications with one another
In the past, the qualification part of the MA was the only part of the programme which carried official recognition. However, this has now been reviewed and now the full MA programme is recognised on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF).
For instance, a Modern Apprenticeship which sits at level 7 on the SCQF is at the same level as a Certificate of Higher Education gained at University, a Higher National Certificate gained at College and an Advanced Higher or Scottish Baccalaureate gained at school. Likewise, a Professional Apprenticeship at SCQF Level 11 is at the same level as a Masters Degree. These are all very different types of qualifications but all demanding a similar level of skills.
Promoting this equality between vocational and academic qualifications is a key aim of ‘Developing the Young Workforce – a Scottish Government strategy and seven year national plan which looks to improve the options on offer for young people, and reduce youth unemployment to the levels of the best performing countries in Europe.
Finding out more
Young people across Scotland will get the chance to find out more about Modern Apprenticeships this 16-20 November as part of Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) Learning Through Work Week.
SDS Careers Advisers in schools are co-ordinating visits from employers and Modern Apprentices throughout the week, so young people can hear first hand about the benefits of work-based learning.
Pupils will also be given a booklet of information about apprenticeships with further information.
To find out more about apprenticeships, search for vacancies and hear directly from current Modern Apprentices about their experiences you can go to apprenticeships.scot or follow @apprentice_scot on twitter
If you have questions about apprenticeships you can talk to your child’s school Careers Adviser, or go to your nearest SDS centre to find out more. My World of Work also as specific information on apprenticeships for parents.
For more information on the SCQF go to www.scqf.org.uk and download our leaflets for parents and learners and view the qualifications framework.
Julie Cavanagh
Manager
Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework Partnership
