A pioneering Foundation Apprentice cohort has kicked off at our Paisley campus, for the first time incorporating not only pupils from across 3 local authorities in one group but with an equal gender split between male and female pupils.

The Level 6 NC in Manufacturing Engineering course was designed specifically to cater for the future The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland Group, whos facilities are all located within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) in Renfrewshire. With a world class facility right on the College’s door step, they recognised that there is and will be a shortage of highly trained and capable engineers/technicians. The 2 year Foundation Apprenticeship, offered exclusively at our Paisley campus has been set up to combat this. 

The course is designed to mimic the first year of an engineering apprenticeship and offers multiple progression routes available to the pupils should they be successful in completion including progression at college to study HNC, securing a modern apprenticeship or progression to university. The group made up of 5 female and 4 male students from Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire and Inverclyde will cover a range of topics such as CAD for Engineers and CNC Machining.

Aleesha Anwar (16), Our Lady & St Patrick’s High School said,

“I’m enjoying it because I get to work with other people who want to do the same sort of thing as me when I’m older. I think the Foundation Apprenticeship will help with experience because other people might not have the same experience as me going into college or university after this course.”

Hannah Taylor (16), St Peter the Apostle High School said, “I’m really enjoying the course so far, we’ve done mainly theory work because we’re only in the first year, but we’re moving on to more manufacturing topics like fabrication which is what I want to do in the future.”

Last year, 12 of the cohort of 15 progressed to the next level of study with 2 going on to study HNC, 1 pupil progressing to Strathclyde University and a further 9 securing apprenticeships with a range of organisations including BAE Systems, Chivas, Aggreko, Ministry of Defence, AFRC & WGM.

Lee Coutts, Assistant Principal: Technology and Skills said,

“We are thrilled to be able to introduce this exciting new Foundation Apprenticeship at our Paisley Campus.  With the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) right on our door step, the programme will offer students the opportunities to learn new skills that are in short demand.  It is an exciting new programme and we look forward to working with our partners to deliver this for our students.”

For more information on our FA Programme check out our website!