"When I came to Dell I was treated like a real member of staff, which gave me more confidence."
Lucy, Business Skills Foundation Apprentice at Dell
To get a job you need experience. To get experience you need a job. It's a tough place to start from. How do you get one without the other?
One option is a Foundation Apprenticeship.
You can choose a Foundation Apprenticeship as one of your subject selections in S5 or S6.
It's a qualification, over 1 or 2 years, that lets you gain work experience in one of Scotland's 12 growth industries while you're still at school. And it fits in with your other senior subjects.
You spend one day or two half days a week working with a local employer, learning the skills that you will need in your future career, wherever that takes you.
You might be working in a creative design studio delivering new content to a design brief with the Creative and Digital Media Foundation Apprenticeship. Or, you could be surveying sites in construction as part of your Civil Engineering FA.
You'll also be developing communication, team-work and self-management skills, giving you a head start for your future.
It’s the same level as a Higher (SCQF6). The only difference is that you are assessed as you go, so there's no final exam.
It counts as one of your entry qualifications to all collegesand universities across Scotland. It will also help make your personal statement really stand out.
It gives you great insight into your chosen industry. You can sometimes use it to fast track part of a Modern or Graduate Apprenticeship. Or you might choose to go straight to work. Find out more.
In your first year, you will spend time at college developing the essential skills you will need on your placement.
The second year lets you spend time out of the classroom completing an extended work placement with one of Scotland’s top employers.
You will be assessed on the work you carry out throughout your placement whether at college or in the workplace. Your employer will work with you develop a plan for the assessments.
Lucy, Business Skills Foundation Apprentice at Dell
Foundation Apprenticeships have been developed for 12 of Scotland's growth industries.
Help businesses keep track of their money and grow their profits. If you’re a good problem-solver, this FA could be your solution.
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Want to know what makes a company successful? Learn about managing people, projects, and strategy.
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Engineers work out new and better ways to do things - and create them. If you're a natural problem solver, it could be for you.
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Get a foot in the door of business, accountancy and banking. You could manage the money that keeps everything else ticking along.
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Do you have a nose for success? Work in food science, nutrition or developing the products of the future.
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Every business in the country depends on technology. You could be the one to fix problems, keep it running, and make it work better.
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Some of our biggest advancements start out in a lab. Science has the power to change the world - and you could be part of it.
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Every child deserves the best start in life, and to grow up happy, healthy and confident. You can help make sure this happens.
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Want to try something challenging, but rewarding? Learn about helping people when they need it most.
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Gaming, virtual reality, cyber security - the digital world is changing fast. You could help decide where it goes next.
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