2nd – 6th March 2020 marks Scottish Apprenticeship Week. This year, the campaign aims to celebrate ‘talent without limits’ and highlight the benefits that make work-based learning good for individuals, employers and the Scottish economy.
At Taylor and Fraser, we have a company-wide focus on commitment to training and investment in our people. This not only covers our team of over 120 employees, but also our group of young apprentices that we work with year on year.
We currently have 13 apprentices who work across our mechanical and electrical divisions. Over their 4 year apprenticeship, half of which is spent at college on day release, they work alongside our team to get hands-on experience within their roles, getting exposure to our extensive portfolio of projects across Scotland. Working with Taylor and Fraser, they have the unique opportunity to learn from our 112+ year history of working on everything from the restoration of A-listed historic buildings through to biomass boiler installations.
Throughout their programme, the apprentices work on their skills in establishing and maintaining relationships in the building services sector and coordinating a work site. Health, safety and environmental legislation are also covered. As well as industry-specific skills, the apprentices also develop transferrable business and interpersonal skills which are taken on throughout their careers and personal life’s. We are proud that our apprenticeship programme gives our candidates a comprehensive basis for starting their careers in our industry. Upon completing their apprenticeships, the internationally recognised qualification will guarantee that the apprentices have the skills, knowledge and abilities required for their future careers.
The initial apprenticeship programme may only be for a set term, however we are proud to have retained many of our apprentices beyond this over the years. One of our employees, Jimmy Sweeny, started his career with Taylor and Fraser over 40 years ago as a young apprentice himself.
We are delighted to also be involved in the shared apprentice scheme, which allows us to access a pool of shared apprentices to our requirements, whilst giving young people the chance to gain highly regarded qualifications. So far, we have one apprentice employed under this scheme with the scope to bringing more on board in the future.