Scott who is completing his apprenticeship with James Frew Ltd, has served on the leadership team of the National Society of Apprentices, the apprentice arm of its parent organisation the National Union of Students (NUS) for just over 2 years. He recently represented the UK at the European Alliance for Apprenticeships held in Barcelona last month.
On 24/25 March 2022, the European Commission, the Directorate General for Vocational Education of the Regional Government of Catalonia, Fundación Bertelsmann, and the European Apprentices Network (EAN) hosted a joint hybrid event titled ‘The Voice of Apprentices in the European Year of Youth 2022’.
Presenting as a keynote speaker at the event, Scott participated as part of a five-person panel and in his speech, he highlighted James Frew’s participation in the “Adopt an Apprentice” scheme of which Scott has first-hand experience as his previous employer went into administration and he was able to continue his apprenticeship with James Frew Ltd.
During lockdown, Scott also partnered up with Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work, Richard Lochhead to support an influential bill which was passed in Scottish Parliament, providing increased mental health support for apprentices, enabling access to mental health charities and additional counselling support.
Scott said of the experience, “I am hugely grateful to be given the opportunity to attend the conference in Barcelona. It was an eye-opening experience learning about the various vocational systems throughout Europe and specifically Spain’s. A lot of constructional dialogue took place, where we shared good practices of different governments approaches to apprenticeship education and certain areas on which we thought there could be some improvement.” He continued,
“It was a really positive experience, and I am optimistic that this will lead to real progress in the future in regard to apprenticeships throughout Europe”.
Operations Director at James Frew Ltd, Danny Gibson said: “Scott has joined our team and is fitting in well. His apprentice experience has been invaluable in helping to mentor other apprentices within our James Frew Academy”.
Head of Construction and Building Services, Paul Lynn at West College Scotland said,
“We are extremely proud of Scott and the efforts he has taken to support his fellow apprentices at WCS and James Frew. We look forward to seeing where his exciting career takes him”.
