Apprentices Brennan and Alex share the spotlight
Two of our council apprentices were in the spotlight last month as they shared their experiences for Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Brennan Dugay, a Regulatory Services Modern Apprentice with Regulatory Services and Apprentice Electrician Alex Kelly spoke of the benefits of this route into employment which combines ‘earning and learning’.
Alex told us: “I decided to embark on an apprenticeship as I believe it is a great way to start a lifelong career. As an apprentice I earn while I learn. All the while I am gaining on-site experience and working towards a qualification at college. Apprentices such as myself receive a high quality of training that is sought after, meaning there is always a wide variety of work that can be undertaken and a range of career development opportunities beyond my studied trade.”
Award nominated
Alex has been nominated for the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Apprentice of the Year award. In his second year of his apprenticeship, he’s gaining valuable knowledge on site and at college: “I am currently learning multiple aspects of being an electrician such as testing, electrical fault finding, installing new circuits, upgrading existing circuits and so on. At college, I have had the opportunity to learn through science and technology classes and have the task of designing an entire electrical installation, including calculating illumination levels all the way to selecting the correct type of circuit breakers.
“All the skills and information I have learned so far allow me to progress through my apprenticeship and will give me the ability to work as a qualified electrician in the future.”
Gain qualifications while earning
Like Alex, the ability to earn a salary at the same time as gaining qualifications appealed to Brennan, who joined the organisation in January. Although still early in his modern apprenticeship journey, Brennan’s pleased with the route he’s chosen, saying: “I could never see myself going to uni but having the chance to still be able to get more qualifications and earn, straight from school, it’s much better. I’d recommend it.”
Brennan studied a foundation apprenticeship in scientific technologies while a student at Dunbar Grammar and this led him to think about a different way into the workplace. “I probably wouldn't have actually thought about a modern apprenticeship if I didn't take the foundation apprenticeship,” explains Brennan. “I didn't want to continue in full-time education so the idea of it was so much more appealing. You can work and get paid while getting qualifications.”
Brennan has already been getting to grips with the many areas that regulatory standards is involved in and is enjoying the breadth of activity: “Trading Standards covers a very broad spectrum of things like pricing and feed visits on animals. It's not the same every day: one day you're in a shop and the next you're on a farm.”