The Hillcrest Group is one of the many companies providing apprenticeship opportunities setting young people up for success in their careers.

Scottish Apprenticeship Week runs from March 5-9 to promote apprenticeships and support young people to make their mark on the Scottish economy.

To mark the week Lesley Pert, Hillcrest HR manager, said: “At Hillcrest we recognise that our greatest asset is our staff, so we do all that we can to invest in the workforce of the future. We have a long history of offering work placements, work experience and apprenticeships and will continue to explore new ways of supporting young people into meaningful employment.

“Apprenticeships provide good quality work based learning which we have found is very appealing to young people who do not want to continue with full time education but are still keen to gain a qualification. It is extremely rewarding to see many of our apprentices go on to gain full time employment and a high percentage have remained within the organisation.”

One of Hillcrest’s apprentices, Matthew Hurrell aged 20, said: “I’m now in my second year of my modern apprenticeship with Hillcrest which continues to be a great experience. On leaving school I was unsure what I wanted to do – go on to further education or get a job. The modern apprenticeship has been the best of both worlds as I’m working full time at the same time as completing my SVQ 3 in Business and Administration.

“For anyone considering an apprenticeship, I would say go for it! It’s allowed me to work for a number of different departments at Hillcrest and get an insight into the range of administrative work there is. I am much more confident than when I left school and feel like I’m on the path to an interesting career.”

Robbie Christie, aged 21, and Ross Grant, aged 20 are both in the final year of their four year apprenticeship in carpentry and joinery.

Robbie commented that “being an apprentice has given me the chance to create a career for myself”. Ross added: “I’m thankful for the opportunity Hillcrest has given me to serve my time as a joiner. And enjoy working with the tradesman at the company.”