DYW Event 2020

Maria goes to the Developing the Young Workforce event at Lerwick Town Hall.

• 06 February 2020
• By Maria Bell
•  Events

Last night, Mesomorphic attended Scotland’s Biggest Parents Evening at Lerwick Town Hall hosted by DYW Shetland, with support from the Shetland College and UHI. There were 16 local employers in attendance, along with SDS, DYW, Shetland College and UHI. It was great to see just how many employment opportunities there are up here, and the strong support network provided to the schools to help the next generation on their journeys.

There was a lot of talk amongst employers about the Graduate Apprenticeship scheme, work experience opportunities and the Shetland economy in general. We also discussed decommissioning, construction, the Space Program, Scotland’s digital economy and how we can inspire secondary school pupils to think outside the box when it comes to their journey from secondary school onwards.

When speaking to some of the pupils and their parents, I was pleasantly surprised to hear apprenticeships being mentioned. There has been a lot of work in the last couple of years expanding the range of subjects that can be delivered using the apprenticeship model, so well done to SDS and DYW for all their hard work raising awareness of these in the schools!

As a company, we have been lucky enough to secure funding to create two Junior Software positions who are also going through the Graduate Apprenticeship programme with Robert Gordon University and the Open University. These opportunities have provided Finlay and Jacob the opportunity to gain a BSc in Software Development as well as benefiting from gaining practical experience from the very beginning as well as earning a wage. Being their mentor, it’s definitely added a few strings to my bow, thanks to the CPD provided by the universities.

If you want to speak with Maria at maria@mesomorphic.co.uk about the Graduate Apprenticeship in Software Development or if you would like to find out what it’s like working in a software development environment, we offer work experience taster sessions or up to a two week block. Before I sign off though, I just want to leave you with this thought. Developing a software product isn’t just about sitting there and writing code. There are so many different roles involved in taking an idea and creating an end product. If you work in a school, or maybe even a youth club, please get in touch with us and we would love to come in and talk with you.

Photos credit DYW.