I began my apprenticeship at the Parliament in 2015 when I was 17 and I’m now working for the Group Head of Communications, Research and Public Engagement as an Administrator. When I’m not working at the Parliament, I will usually paint or spend time with my family, particularly my baby sister who is now learning to walk!
What attracted you to an apprenticeship at the Scottish Parliament?
In school I felt as though there was an expectation for me to apply to University from both my teachers and friends, however this didn’t feel like the right path for me. The stigma of going somewhere other than University did worry me but I could see how much of a unique opportunity the apprenticeship was and that there’s much more to it than people think. I could see that having the chance to start my career, earn my own money and gain my Level 3 SVQ all at once would put me in a great position after leaving school.
What kind of projects have you been involved in?
I was given the opportunity to work with three of the other apprentices on a project to improve an aspect of the Parliament: ours was to bring Contactless Payment, into catering areas across the organisation. We worked collaboratively with the teams such as Facilities Management and our catering company to bring in the change. Working in this way allowed us to become more familiar with new colleagues and build a positive working relationship among various offices. It’s still a fantastic feeling to see the system being used when I’m standing in the queue for my lunch.
What do you get up to in your current role?
I am an Administrator for one of the Parliament’s Group Heads and I assist with day to day duties such as cascading communications to Office Heads and scheduling meetings. As part of my role I am also the Secretariat for The Public Engagement Board, Public Engagement Group and our Incident Communications Team. Attending the meetings of these groups is what I find most interesting within my role as it allows me to gain an insight into aspects of the organisation that I otherwise wouldn’t see.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
The variation of roles and opportunities within the Parliament is so extensive that it is difficult to pin down where I may be! I would like to continue learning about Public Engagement within my role and see the progress made towards strengthening our engagement with the people of Scotland across the remainder of Session 5.