Scottish Qualifications Authority Centre
FARE have been supporting young people to undertake training via Modern Apprenticeships for over ten years. Over this time, FARE have supported over 70 Modern Apprentices to begin their careers in Youth Work, Social Services (children & young people) and Management apprenticeships. Within the apprenticeships, FARE’s MA Key Workers support learners to develop their knowledge and practice through the completion of vocational qualifications. These qualifications underpin the standards required by practitioners in the field to ensure that those working within the sector have the correct skills and knowledge to support the communities and the service users that they are working with. Examples of the qualifications that learners work towards completing within their apprenticeships include:
SVQ Youth Work SCQF Lv7
SVQ Social Services (children & young people) SCQF Lv7
SVQ Management SCQF Lv9
Core Skills Numeracy SCQF Lv5
Core Skills ICT SCQF Lv5
The opportunity to be an apprentice, be paid and learn whilst you work, has proved to be a catalyst for participants through their training and learning journey with FARE. Indeed, many apprentices have moved on to full time roles within the sectors where they have learned and honed their skills, securing roles within nursery’s, youth and community projects as well as moving onto other sectors where the skills they have acquired within the apprenticeship have given them the platform to continue their profession and personal development.
The opportunities that apprenticeships present to learners can be seen in the careers that form apprentices have forged. These include working within the youth justice field, mechanics, social care, the employability sector, teaching and sports development. In addition to the apprentices securing full-time work, others have moved on to study at college and universities on courses that include primary and community education, social services and psychology.
The strength of FARE as a training provider comes from the wealth of knowledge and experience that the assessors within the centre have. This, in conjunction with the experience of the employers and mentors within the apprentices workplace, provide a holistic approach to development for all apprentices that is tailored to their needs and is designed to enable the learners to work at their speed. This provides a welcoming and nurturing environment for learners to undertake their training and development from the outset of their career journey.
Examples of the journeys that apprentices have undertaken are included within the case studies below. For any further details on apprenticeships please click on the following link and a member of the team will respond to your query.
SVQ Approved Training Centre
Whilst the training centre provides qualifications and support for the apprentices to work through their work-based learning qualifications, the training centre also provides a range of other qualifications that can enable learners to develop the necessary skills to move up to the next level in the employment ladder or even enable them to complete tasters in certain employment fields to allow them to see if it is the right employment path for them.
The learning centre provides access to learners to a range of qualifications including:
SVQ Youth Work SCQF Lv7
SVQ Social Services (children & young people) SCQF Lv7
SVQ Management SCQF Lv9
Core Skills Numeracy SCQF Lv5
Core Skills ICT SCQF Lv5
In addition to these qualifications, FARE also provide opportunities for learners to access other qualifications through our link to the FARE Employability Team. Some of these additional qualifications include:
SVQ Social Services SCQF Lv6
National Progression Award Social Services SCQF Lv6
Foundation Apprenticeship Social Services SCQF Lv6
SVQ Youth Work SCQF Lv6
SVQ Playwork SCQF Lv7
Personal Development Awards SCQF Level’s 3, 4 & 5
Other additional qualifications available to undertake include:
Emergency First Aid @ Work
Health and Safety
Manual Handling
Mental Health First Aid for Youths
Elementary Cooking
Child Protection
REHIS Food Hygiene
Barista Skills
Case Study
Name – Callum Bennett
Role – Youth Worker
When you started and completed your MA?
July 2018 to July 2019
Why you chose a Modern Apprenticeship?
I had chosen to do the modern apprenticeship as I had been doing volunteer and
attending a youth group every Thursday night with Enable Scotland.
Having enjoyed doing the work I wanted something more in the field of youth work thus
coming across the modern apprenticeship when I was my last year of high school, I applied,
and I got the job and started soon as my high schooling was over.
What, if any, challenges, or barriers did you face before beginning your MA?
There were not barriers as such my whole process as a MA went smoothly only challenge was the SVQ qualification as it was the most challenging piece of work, I had ever done.
What was your experience like?
My experience as a MA was fantastic, it created opportunities for me to learn the field I wanted to work in, and allowed me to gain the knowledge needed in order to become a great worker in youth work as well as making good friends who I have went to College and University with since leaving FARE.
What did you do in a typical day?
The typical day at FARE would differ from week to week however it was mostly arrive at the building, to my SVQ work, man the desk if needed and then work in the groups later at night from Primary 1-4s, Primary 5-7s and the Primary 7-S6
What did you enjoy most about your job/role?
The thing I most enjoyed was simply the job itself. Having wanted to work in youth work for some time before getting the MA, I was thrilled everyday in working the field that interested me most. Plus working with a great staff team there was never a dull moment working with the great staff.
How did the qualification support you in your current role/learning?
My SVQ Level 6 in Youth Work helped me go far in the field of youth work as well as other fields after leaving FARE I went on to work in Social Care In which I worked for The Mungo Foundation’s Ravenswood Project and their South Glasgow Drug and Alcohol Recovery Hub. I now work for The Richmond Fellowship in their Cherry Tree Court service in Cambuslang.
What words of advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship?
The words of advice for someone considering doing an apprenticeship is simply just do it, it grew my confidence in the working field and allowed me to created many great memories that I still think about today, Doing the modern apprenticeship was one of the best things to ever happen to me.