Having completed 5 Highers in his 5th year of school at Broxburn Academy, Calum heard about the Foundation Apprenticeship in IT Software Development and saw how this could boost his university application and give him a head start for university. Calum completed his FA in just one year, also completing 3 Highers at school during this time.

During his FA, Calum enjoyed work experience opportunities with a range of employers. Speaking of his experiences, Calum said:

“I really enjoyed the work experience I gained from the Foundation Apprenticeship. I worked with a local company MickMickDesigns and built them a new website. It was really good fun and great to see the final outcome when the site went online, it also certainly improved my web development skills. I also got to spend some time working at Sky which was really interesting as it meant I got to see how a big company operates. I probably wouldn’t have done either of these work placements if it wasn’t for the Foundation Apprenticeship.”

Having completed his Foundation Apprenticeship and Highers, Calum was accepted into university and is now several months into his course. Speaking of his experience so far, Calum said:

“University is going great so far, I’m really enjoying meeting new people. The FA has definitely helped me settle in at university, the more independent style of learning I experienced at college has helped me to stay on top of my work, and the programming part we are learning at the moment is very similar to what we learnt at college. Other than the big class sizes and lectures at university, a lot of the ways we learn and do work are very similar to college.”

When asked what his advice would be to others considering a Foundation Apprenticeship, Calum said:

“I would definitely recommend it, not only do you get great work experience opportunities, you can also progress into loads of different areas. I chose university but the course can also set you up really well for a Modern Apprenticeship, for another college course or even for getting a job since you have some experience for your CV.”

Find out more about the Foundation Apprenticeship in IT Software here.