As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week (March 1-5 2021), national social care charity Cornerstone is delighted to announce that fully-funded, Health and Social Care Modern Apprenticeships opportunities will be available shortly in Aberdeenshire.
Open to young people aged 18-29 years, the modern apprenticeship scheme gives those looking to pursue or develop their career in health and social care, the opportunity to gain a sector-recognised qualification whilst working in a paid role as a support worker or team member.
Sheila Gordon, Cornerstone’s Training Academy lead explains: “A modern apprenticeship is an excellent route for young people to pursue and develop a career in health and social care. It allows candidates to invest in their own continuous learning and development, whilst keeping up to date with the latest skills, techniques and regulations. Importantly it also allows young people to convert their on-the-job, practical experience into a formal, recognised and required qualification”.
Since the scheme was launched in 2011, Cornerstone has trained a total of 169 modern apprenticeships, with a further 16 colleagues currently working towards their qualification.
Sheila adds: “Modern apprenticeships are a key investment Cornerstone chooses to make in our workforce; an investment that is also recognised by our Investors in Young People award. We pride ourselves in paying our modern apprenticeships the Scottish Living Wage and ensure those who complete a modern apprenticeship immediately receive the same salary as someone already qualified.
"We provide full support through our employed team of trained assessors, giving our modern apprenticeships full access to facilitated study sessions, up-to-date guidance and regular reviews and check-ins. In addition, modern apprenticeships have proven to be a great way for us to develop our workforce by creating new opportunities and training new staff as well as upskilling existing employees and supporting career progression.”
Lewis Walker, 23, completed his modern apprenticeship in 2018 which then helped him to progress his career to become team leader at Cornerstone’s South Aberdeenshire Community Support.
“I decided to do my modern apprenticeship because it was a good opportunity to learn new skills and gain a qualification that is relevant to my role. It has been really rewarding being able to learn whilst on the job and put my new skills into practice on a day to day basis. Every day was a school day during my apprenticeship as I was learning all the time, and each day is really varied in my role.
“Doing a modern apprenticeship has really helped me to gain a better understanding of the organisational procedures and it gave me an overall awareness of how it all links together. I really enjoyed being able to write about my experiences and linking this back into practice.
“The support I received was excellent and I was well supported by the Training Academy – nothing was too much trouble for them!”
Anyone who would like to note interest in Cornerstone’s forthcoming modern apprenticeship opportunities should contact recruitment@cornerstone.org.uk in the first instance.