Earlier this week (Wednesday 5 March) Lothian welcomed members of the Economy and Fair Work Committee to our Head Office in Annandale Street, Edinburgh, to meet some of our apprentices during Scottish Apprenticeship Week.
Two of our Modern Apprentices, Maia and Ava, have been in post for approximately six months in their respective roles as Data Analyst Apprentice and HR Apprentice, while Engineering Apprentices Mia and Scott have been learning their trade on the workshop floor at Lothian since 2023 and 2024 respectively.
Colin Smyth MSP, Michelle Thomson MSP, Murdo Fraser MSP, Gordon MacDonald MSP and Lorna Slater MSP took part in a roundtable discussion with Maia, Ava, Mia and Scott to learn more about how they made the decision to undertake their apprenticeship, what their experiences have been like, and how the business is supporting them to grow and develop within their roles.
This year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week theme is ‘Made for Business’, illustrating how apprenticeships are crucial to grow and expand Scotland’s workforce. Lothian’s Communications Director Gaynor Marshall, Engineering Director Colin Barnes, Chief Engineer Dylan Dastey, Head of HR Aileen McKie, and Training and Apprentice Manager Michael Taylor all spoke passionately about Lothian’s apprenticeship programme and the benefits being gleaned by the business through their inclusion.
Colin, Dylan and Michael got their foot on the ladder through apprenticeship programmes and strongly advocated for similar schemes that enable people to earn a wage while learning their trade. Dylan also spoke of the value of mature apprenticeships which have a shorter programme length and give people, who’ve perhaps already trained in other disciplines or had careers in different areas, the opportunity to try something new.
For Mia, as one of two female engineering apprentices, seeing more women entering the industry would be very welcome. She told the Committee that her working day on the workshop floor isn’t daunting; she’s just a member of the team, and she would love for more women to take the step into engineering. Today on International Women’s Day (8 March), we would love to hear from women, in particular, who have an interest in joining Lothian’s Apprentice Engineering programme.
Applications for the 2025 intake are now being accepted – to learn more about the two apprenticeship types available, visit the GTG website. Applications close on Friday 4 April 2025.