Samuel’s story: Insight into Apprenticeships

At the start of the programme Samuel and his mum were concerned about why he had been selected for Insight into Apprenticeships; mum thought it might have been because he was struggling in school. She was assured by the programme lead that his teachers had put him forward as they believed he might benefit from learning more about apprenticeships as a future option for him. They were both very grateful and open-minded about the different activities.

Samuel has always been an enthusiastic member of the cohort; he has attended all the activities with a positive attitude and stepped out of his comfort zone on many occasions. The trip that particularly stood out for Samuel was the SGS College WISE campus visit. This day was designed to give the students a taste of the training element of an apprenticeship (80% of an apprentice’s time is learning on the job and 20% is learning skills with a training provider). The students took part in different course workshops and had a tour of the campus. Sean’s mum called that evening:

“Samuel has come home buzzing about today! He didn’t stop talking and he hardly ever talks, especially about anything to do with school. He really liked the fact that there was another school there and one of his friends was in that group. I spoke to his friend’s mum and we both said how much our sons have grown in confidence since the start of the programme, it is really helping our two lads. Samuel was talking about the ESport session, I wasn’t 100% sure what it was! I’m going to look at the college with him and see what courses they do so he can start getting an idea of what he wants to do. Thank you so much.”

We hope Samuel continues to try out new experiences and finds the right pathway for him.