Graduate Apprenticeship is “best decision” Caitlin ever made

The 21-year-old, from Clydebank, works in the Service Design and Innovation Team at Skills Development Scotland and is undertaking an apprenticeship in Business Management, which allows her to gain a degree while working.

Scotland’s skills agency, Skills Development Scotland developed Graduate Apprenticeships in partnership with industry and the further and higher education sectors.

Caitlin said: “Before signing onto the Graduate Apprenticeship, I studied Computing at university and after a year realised that not only was I not interested in the particular subject but that I learned more from ‘doing’ than spending all of my time in lectures.

“Now, I work in the innovation management function and provide support around strategic planning and programme management. Through work-based learning, I have been given the opportunity to get more involved in other pieces of work across the team exploring concepts and ideas around management and team development. I hope to be able to bring everything I have learned through my degree to the team and use my knowledge and experience to support the management of our strategic and innovative projects.”

Speaking of how the current pandemic has affected her Graduate Apprenticeship experience, Caitlin said it has helped her establish good balance.

“Working and studying from home has helped me to establish a good balance initially between my study time and my work time,” she said. “I’m able to close things off more easily and place my focus on one main thing which would likely be more difficult with distractions in the office.”

She added: “I have really enjoyed my experience so far. There is so much I have learned, and I have been able to gain such valuable experience thanks to the engagement, planning and support I’ve had from my mentor and our team’s director. I have been able to implement my learning much more seamlessly than I would’ve expected, and I get to have conversations with more experienced individuals on their use of certain tools.

“It’s also amazing that I’m getting the opportunities to build my experience and contextualise my learning so early on in my career. I knew from the beginning it would be a great experience to build my skills and knowledge, but it has exceeded my expectations. My confidence, capability and maturity has increased and so rapidly as well, I never expected to see and feel the benefits of the Graduate Apprenticeship this early on. It was the best decision I’ve ever made!”