Back to Real Life Learning for Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices

14/10/2022

Meet Chloe Sinet and Corie McSween, two of Glasgow Kelvin College’s amazing Civil Engineering Foundation Apprentices who are excited about being on-campus for this part of their learner journey.

Chloe, a 6th year pupil at St Roch’s Secondary is now in her 2nd year of the 2-year Foundation Apprenticeship (FA), having completed the 1st year of the course almost completely online.

She attends 2 days per week and reflected that the 1st year of the programme, though really enjoyable, was challenging to complete online but the support of her lecturer and fellow classmates carried her through.  She was able to ask questions and the lecturer helped her to understand the basics and the intricacies of the course.

The pandemic also presented problems with the delivery of the work experience element of the programme.  She says;

“It’s great to be learning in-person now, though, and I’m excited about experiencing college life.  I’m also really looking forward to the work placement element which will kick-in this year and we’ll learn proper workplace skills.”

Chloe’s plans are to continue down the Apprenticeship route, hopefully gaining a Modern Apprenticeship with a local employer and continuing into a Graduate Apprenticeship in the field of Civil Engineering.  She’s looking forward to the future.

Corie is a 6th year pupil at Bishopbriggs Academy and has just entered the 1st year of her 1-year Foundation Apprenticeship at Kelvin, where she’ll attend for 3 days per week.  She says;

“I’ve always been interested in engineering and when my Guidance Teacher at school spoke about the FA I was really keen to experience it and see what it would be like to be an engineer.  I really like being on-campus, getting to meet my fellow students and being involved in college life.”

With plans to possibly go to university, Corie is excited about continuing her Civil Engineering studies at Glasgow Kelvin as it will give her a flavour of the industry and help her to determine if this is the right route for her future.

Foundation Apprenticeships are supported by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS).  They provide senior phase pupils, while still at school, with the opportunity to attend college and learn a skill, get a qualification and, significantly, gain work experience with a local employer where they’ll gather industry knowledge and develop their workplace skills.

Glasgow Kelvin College, as the only regional college to offer the FA in Civil Engineering, is delighted to welcome these talented young people on-campus and will ensure that Chloe and Corie, and their classmates, have the best learning and college experience it can provide to set them up for their future and achieve their ambitions.

Best wishes go from the College to these remarkable young women.

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