European Structural and Investment Funds

CASE STUDY: Jordan – Skills Development Scotland (European Social Fund)

February 26, 2020 by Patrick Douglas No Comments | Category Case study

Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) Graduate Apprenticeships programme offers Scots the opportunity to work, get paid, and achieve a degree – even up to masters level. It not only improves the employability of Scotland’s workforce but helps businesses to develop and retain skilled employees, improving productivity, morale and quality of service. Including SDS’s Foundation Apprenticeships programme, the £20.6m training activity is supported with £8.6m of allocated grant from the European Social Fund (ESF).

Jordan is one of many young people in Scotland who has benefitted from the ESF-supported Graduate Apprenticeships (GA) programme. He has been studying for a Business Management GA at Strathclyde Business School since September 2019. In November 2019, Jordan was named Scotland’s Apprentice of the Year at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards after identifying an issue with packaging which resulted in a £60,000 cost saving for the seafood firm he works for.

Like other GAs, Jordan combines studying whilst continuing to work full-time. According to Jordan: “Everything I learn I can apply to further my understanding of the workplace, and improve the quality of my work. My Graduate Apprenticeship will help me learn useful theory and further develop my career by gaining a degree.”

To find out more about SDS and their Graduate Apprenticeships programme, please visit: www.apprenticeships.scot/become-an-apprentice/graduate-apprenticeships/

Project details

• Operation name: New Work-based Learning Models
• ESF contribution: £8,580,005
• Total expenditure: £20,620,055
• Lead Partner: Skills Development Scotland
• Thematic Objective: 10. Investing in education, training and vocational training for skills and lifelong learning
• Programme: European Social Fund 2014-2020

Comments