Sophie Gittins, a 21-year-old farmer and Apprenticeship Awards 2014 finalist returned to her roots this week to inspire students at Welshpool High School to consider choosing an apprenticeship.
Sophie is part of a team of ‘Apprenticeship Ambassadors’ working with the Welsh Government’s Department for Education and Skills to tour the country encouraging young people to follow the apprenticeship pathway and take up one of a huge variety of roles available across Wales.
Sophie, who was unsure of which direction to take after completing her GCSES, has now completed a Level 3 NVQ in Agriculture with Neath Port Talbot College and as part of her apprenticeship is working on her family farm at Lower Llivior, Berriew.
Sophie visited Welshpool High School to talk to pupils about how choosing the vocational route has helped her gain the qualifications and skills she needs to pursue a career in farming and agriculture.
She told the pupils how she had wanted to become a vet but felt she was unable to get the grades she needed to pursue a degree in veterinary science. While she was studying for her GCSEs she spoke to her careers advisor who recommended she choose an apprenticeship in agriculture so she could work towards her dream of working with animals.
She said: “Before I left school, I was unsure of the options available, although I knew I wanted to work with animals and hoped to carry on the tradition of working on my family farm. While I could have chosen to go straight to work from school, I knew it was important to get some qualifications under my belt and to be up to date with all of the latest farming practices and technologies.
“I started my apprenticeship in 2010, attending college two days a week and working on the farm the rest of the time. Combining work on the farm with college lectures helped me to learn essential, practical farming skills while helping me to understand the theory behind the work I was doing.
“Now I have completed my apprenticeship, I am going to start a foundation degree in rural business in September, so I can learn more about the business management side of running a farm. I never thought that my apprenticeship would lead to me going on to university, but it just shows that there are lots of different education paths to suit everyone.
“I think it’s really important that young people understand all of the options available to them when leaving school – especially if, like me, they are the type of person who learns best by doing.”
From butchery to baking, engineering to electrical or hospitality to HR there is a huge range of apprenticeship frameworks available for young people across Wales. The Welsh Government’s ‘Apprenticeship Ambassador’ campaign aims to raise awareness of apprenticeships among secondary school pupils, while highlighting the benefits of receiving hands-on practical industry-led experience.
Deputy Minister for Skills and Technology, Julie James, said:
“There is such a huge variety of career pathways available to young people these days, particularly if they follow the vocational route, and it is more important than ever that students are presented with all the accessible options available to them in order to ensure they make informed choices about their future.
“Sophie and the other apprenticeship ambassadors are real-life role models for young people across Wales.
“They are admirable examples of just what can be achieved through a valuable combination of skills, qualifications and training. Following the vocational route of an apprenticeship can also lead to a highly rewarding and successful career.”
Sophie added “I really enjoyed meeting the students at Welshpool High School.
“They have some big decisions ahead about their future over the next year so I hope that my talk has inspired them to look into the variety of apprenticeships available to them and consider following a vocational route.”
Sophie was joined by her training provider, Susan Roberts from Neath Port Talbot College, who shared information about how the apprenticeship scheme works.
The apprenticeship ambassadors are visiting schools in Cardiff, Merthyr, Newbridge, Treorchy, Mold Carmarthen, Swansea and Welshpool over the next month.
The apprenticeship programme is funded by the Welsh Government with the support of the European Social Fund.
For more information about becoming an apprentice, please visit www.careerswales.com or call 0800 0284844. Also on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/
Careers advisor at Welshpool High School, Jackie Evans, said: “The pupils really enjoyed hearing about Sophie’s personal experience of undertaking an apprenticeship, and have gone away realising that they can simultaneously receive hands-on practical experience working in the real world while gaining qualifications and earning money.
“Academia isn’t for everyone and we all have different ways of learning which is why we’re so pleased that Sophie and her employer and training provider took time out of their busy schedules to visit us and provide our students with a real-life insight into apprenticeship.”