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Apprenticeships offer fast track to career success
Young people receiving qualification results this summer are being encouraged to consider apprenticeships as a valuable alternative to university, offering hands-on experience, formal qualifications and a wage from day one.
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Apprenticeships offer fast track to career success
14
August
2025
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Thursday 14 August 2025
Earn while you learn – Apprentices gain industry-recognised qualifications while receiving a competitive salary from day one.
Fast-track career progression – Apprentices can advance more rapidly than university graduates, gaining 3-5 years of valuable workplace experience and professional connections while their peers are still studying.
Real responsibility and trust – Employers give apprentices meaningful roles with genuine accountability, and opportunities to influence significant projects early in their careers.
Flexible career pathways – Apprenticeships offer diverse qualification options across multiple industries, with opportunities to change direction and apply transferable skills in different roles within the organisation.
Young people receiving qualification results this summer are being encouraged to consider apprenticeships as a valuable alternative to university, offering hands-on experience, formal qualifications and a wage from day one.
SP Energy Networks employees who have completed or are currently undertaking apprenticeships have shared their experiences of how this career path has helped them develop both professionally and personally.
Diverse qualifications for different career paths
Anna Crichton
The apprenticeship programmes at SP Energy Networks offer a range of industry-recognised qualifications tailored to specific career paths. Daniel Leggat and Anna Crichton both completed Project Management Apprenticeships, achieving an HND in Project Management , while earning the Project Management Qualification (PMQ) from the Association of Project Managers (APM).
Anna said: 'The project management course covers a huge range of subjects. You're not just studying for an exam but also submitting evidence of how you've applied these skills in your actual work.'
Callum Craig
Daniel adds that the qualification involves 'a really intense level of engagement with your employer to make sure the skills are there. You've worked for two years towards that qualification, and the learning pathways continue from there. I'm currently working toward chartered status with APM.'
Callum Craig, in his second year as an apprentice overhead linesman, has a different experience: 'I did a nine-month pre-apprenticeship at Glasgow Clyde College. We studied technical subjects like maths and physics for electricity, along with practical hands-on skills.'
'Throughout the apprenticeship, you're constantly adding to your skills that make you more valuable to the company,' Callum explains.
Benefits beyond the classroom
Aimee Dickson
Aimee Dickson, a graduate apprentice – who has now secured an honours degree in business management – believes apprenticeships of all kinds significantly accelerate career progression: 'It really fast-tracks you within an organisation because you're building up experience and your own profile within the business. The roles that most of our trainees go into after their training programmes would take a lot longer to reach if you went to university and then spent another two or three years progressing through the business.'
Anna, who now leads SP Energy Networks’ data governance strategy, highlights the communication skills she developed: 'I was 17 when I started, and the communication skills I've developed coming from a school environment into a workplace is something I definitely wouldn't have got if I'd gone to university. I was even asked to present to our CEO and board of directors when I was only 19.'
Daniel values the practical learning approach: 'You learn the theory but then get to apply it at the same time. There's a level of trust and autonomy that's extraordinary – Anna and I were literally spending millions of pounds within our first year.'
Daniel Leggat
'I applied for the graduate apprenticeship programme after achieving four Highers at school. I’ve now had four years of people management experience out of a four-year apprenticeship,' says Aimee. 'I've had the opportunity to meet with MSPs and influence policymakers as an apprentice voice. The exposure you get through apprenticeships within SP Energy Networks is huge. I’m now the Co-Chair of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board Apprentice Engagement Group (SAAB AEG).'
Anna reflects on her career flexibility: 'If you don't know exactly what you want to do, getting into a company like this means you can change your career path. I started in project management and now I'm in a governance team, which is totally different, but I can still use the skills from my apprenticeship.'
'The graduates joining us now are the same age as me,' Anna concludes. 'If I'd gone to university, I'd just be starting work now. Instead, I've got five extra years of experience, and the business knowledge you can gain in that time is huge.'
Real-world Experience and Professional Growth
Jen Davies, Strategic Workforce Renewals Manager at SP Energy Networks, talks about why anyone receiving their results this year should consider an apprenticeship as their next step. 'With the increasing number of young people completing SQA Awards, and other vocational and technical courses while at school, as an employer we are keen to capitalise on their interest, and give them routes into a successful career.'
Jen added: 'An apprenticeship gives a young person a chance to flourish in a real work environment while working towards relevant and recognised qualifications, and at the same time earning a wage.
'Typically, an apprentice will have a two or three year – or even greater – head-start on their career against anyone completing a traditional four-year degree programme.'
Alasdair Smith, Head of Higher National Vocational Qualification Policy at SQA said: 'Within the SP Energy Networks apprenticeship programmes, each apprentice will have the chance to develop, gain real-life experiences and responsibilities, and see themselves grow into their careers. Aimee, Daniel, Callum and Anna demonstrate daily how valuable vocational and technical qualifications combined with excellent employer-led apprenticeship programmes have given them the confidence and skills to reach further earlier in their careers and set themselves up for success in the future.'
For more information about apprenticeship opportunities, including Foundation Apprenticeships, Modern Apprenticeships and other apprenticeship opportunities, please visit Apprenticeships.
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Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:00:16 +0100
NEW
Buzzing with opportunity: Beekeeping qualification at Baldragon Academy
At Baldragon Academy in Dundee, the National Progression Award (NPA) in Beekeeping at SCQF Level 5 is providing pupils with practical experience, scientific knowledge, and transferable life skills.
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Buzzing with opportunity: Beekeeping qualification at Baldragon Academy
12
August
2025
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12 August 2025
At Baldragon Academy in Dundee, the National Progression Award (NPA) in Beekeeping at SCQF Level 5 is providing pupils with practical experience, scientific knowledge, and transferable life skills.
The NPA in Beekeeping introduces students to apiculture techniques, including identifying beekeeping equipment, managing bee colonies, and understanding pollination. The course is made up of three units: Beekeeping: an Introduction, Practical Skills, and Theory. Together, they provide learners with a comprehensive insight into both the biology of bees and maintaining hives.
Currently more than 20 schools are approved to offer the qualification, with over 350 entries to date, and that number is growing year on year.
Fred Mollison, a Scottish Expert Beemaster who teaches the course at Baldragon Academy, explains, “The first unit is general theory—equipment, types of hives, pollen and nectar sources. The second is hands-on. They go into hives, manage swarms, raise queens, and harvest honey. The third is deeper into bee biology, pollen types, and flower cycles.”
Classroom learning is combined with hands-on experience at the school’s own apiary, giving pupils the chance to don a bee suit and get to work managing colonies, inspecting hives, and harvesting honey.
Developing skills
While beekeeping might seem like a niche skill, the qualification offers far-reaching benefits. Pupils develop technical abilities, responsibility, and transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and organisation. As Fred Mollison points out, it’s about more than honey:
“They’re learning responsibility, patience, how to observe and record. They work in pairs or small teams, so communication is key. There’s problem-solving when things go wrong, and it builds resilience. You can’t rush a hive inspection—you have to be calm and methodical.”
What’s more, the course naturally embeds literacy and numeracy skills. Pupils keep detailed hive logs, label observations, track weather patterns, and calculate quantities of honey harvested and bottled.
“There’s a lot of side skills to this,” continues Fred Mollison. “Some pupils say they’re not great at English or Maths, but during inspections one has to record observations so they’re doing English. They calculate honey yields and pricing, so they’re doing Maths, without realising it.”
These skill-building opportunities give learners confidence and practical literacy and numeracy in a real-life setting.
Working with bees has also proven to have mental health benefits. The calming nature of apiary work has helped pupils manage anxiety and stress.
“There’s evidence that being around bees promotes calmness,” Fred Mollison notes. “Handling bees and being in a bee apiary calms people down. If you’re anxious or angry, the bees will know it.”
Pupil perspectives
For pupils like 17-year-old Matthew McConochie, the course has personal significance:
“My grandad, who I visit four times a year, keeps bees at his home in Estonia. I’ve always been interested but I never thought I’d get the chance to do it at school. I plan to have my own bees when I leave school in my garden. I could sell the honey, but I will probably keep most of it for myself.”
“For anyone else thinking about taking this course, I’d say go for it! It’s interesting and you will learn more about bees and the responsibility and importance of looking after them.”
15-year-old Katherine Kerr shares a similar enthusiasm. “I decided to take this course because I love animals and want to be a zookeeper,” she says. “This is definitely my favourite subject, and the more qualifications I can get involving animals the better. There’s a good mix of practical and theory and its great experience for my future career and has encouraged me to go to college.”
Cross-curricular collaboration
Departments and classes throughout Baldragon Academy have embraced the bees. The art department runs competitions to design honey labels. Business Studies pupils work on marketing and sales strategies. Craft, Design and Technology pupils build hives and tools, while those doing Home Economics help process the honey. Even Biology students use the apiary for pollination studies and microscopy work.
“This is genuinely an interdisciplinary project,” says Headteacher Hugh McAnich. “Young people are out caring for something and seeing a season through. It gives them an enormous sense of achievement. Learning becomes much more meaningful when it’s tangible.
“We've also worked as part of an enterprise project where we've developed our honey as a marketable product. Working with the Food Standards Agency, we sold the honey in the Dundee Science Centre as a legitimate product. It’s something our young people have created and can sit on supermarket shelves.”
Skills beyond the bees
Biology teacher Megan McGunnigle, who helps deliver the course, sees great value in the blend of coursework and real-time feedback.
“Many pupils struggle with exam conditions,” she explains. “This course gives them continual assessment and immediate feedback, which really benefits their confidence and learning.”
The course also opens doors to future careers in animal care, rural land management, and horticulture, but also crosses over into the scientific fields.
Megan McGunnigle explains: “There is some crossover with Biology. We teach a lot about pollination in third year, so it’s beneficial for pupils to go outside and see it in action. They can see the bees coming out of the hive and onto the flowers, they’re seeing it in practice instead of just reading about it in a textbook”
An obvious career choice linked to the qualification is commercial beekeeping, and in fact local businesses, such as the UK’s largest bee farm located near Coupar Angus, offer seasonal jobs to qualified students.
Qualifications to suit everyone
At Baldragon Academy, what began as a wider achievement initiative has grown into offering a Beekeeping qualification, and indeed involving as many pupils and classes as possible. The commitment to vocational learning ensures pupils gain more than a certificate, they gain hands-on experiences and transferable life skills.
“Vocational qualifications work really well because pupils see the relevance,” says Headteacher, Hugh McAnich. “They can see it, they can feel it, they can touch it, and I think that becomes a much more meaningful experience for them when they're in school.
“Learning should be accessible for every young person. Whether you're following a more traditional mainstream route, or if you're taking a more vocational route, we have to have a diverse offering in schools so that every young person can get an opportunity to excel in something.”
Mags Paterson, Head of Creative, Hospitality & Sport at SQA, commented: “The NPA in Beekeeping is a fantastic example of how vocational qualifications bring learning to life. It gives young people hands-on experience, scientific understanding, and practical skills that can lead to further study or employment. The collaboration across departments at Baldragon Academy highlights that there is something for every pupil to get involved in.”
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12-AUG-2025
Tue, 12 Aug 2025 15:05:28 +0100
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