New research from Scottish Gas has revealed that parents in Aberdeen are three times more likely to advise boys to take on an apprenticeship compared to girls.
As part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, an independent national survey polling teens and parents found that just over four in ten (43%) parents in Aberdeen admitted offering their children differing career advice depending on their gender.
Only 17% of teenage girls in Aberdeen view a work based qualification like an apprenticeship as an essential for their future careers. Yet a quarter of teenage boys (25%) consider this type of qualification to be important.
Scottish Gas, which has trained 500 apprentices from across Scotland since opening the doors to its academy in Hamilton five years ago, is urging more girls to consider an apprenticeship.
Explaining this rally to young women, the company said in 2014 only 3.3% of applicants for its competitive technical and engineering apprenticeship schemes were female.
John Lochrie, former Scottish Gas apprentice and now operations director for HomeCare Services at Scottish Gas, said: “It’s clear from this research that apprenticeships are still regarded as something of a man’s world among young people.
“Apprenticeships are a great way into an organisation. A Scottish Gas apprenticeship allows you to earn while you learn and encourages you to develop skills for life.
“I’d encourage all girls thinking about their future career, or looking for employment, to consider an apprenticeship.”
Service and repair engineer Vicky Smith, 24, from Peterhead, trained as an apprentice at the Scottish Gas Academy in Hamilton, near Glasgow, before qualifying in January 2013.
Since then, Vicky has gone from strength to strength, and was recently nominated for the academy’s Apprentice of the Year for her hard-working, caring and positive attitude to customer service.
She said: “I really liked being at the academy. It was great to learn from experienced engineers and I was given a lot of support from my teachers and others in my class. The best part about my training was the mix of classroom and workshop learning, as well as shadowing engineers.”
One thing that didn’t come as a surprise to Vicky was that there weren’t many females in her class.
“When I was at school, girls weren’t really encouraged to go down the apprenticeship route, especially not into a field like engineering,” she said.
“I think young people should have the opportunity to try every option available to them. While I was learning, I was treated exactly the same as my male colleagues. There were 12 of us in the class, and my roommate and I were the only girls.
“We were trained in the same way and supported and encouraged as much as the guys. I knew that Scottish Gas was interested in developing my skills, not whether I was male or female.”
Before Vicky decided to go for an apprenticeship with Scottish Gas, she looked into other practical career paths, but struggled to find the right one for her.
“I left school aged 17 with eight Standard Grades and four Highers. I was keen to find work in a hands-on role but struggled. At first I worked in retail but, it wasn’t for me. I then decided to study for a degree in surveying at Aberdeen University. I enjoyed the course but I didn’t enjoy university life.”
Vicky left university and applied for an HNC in electrical engineering
at Aberdeen College. She passed the course and was about to apply for an HND but realised that finding a job would be difficult.
Vicky said: “I could see that, by joining a company like Scottish Gas, there would be so many opportunities to have a rewarding career in engineering.”
After successfully completing the selection process, she was offered a place on the service and repair apprenticeship programme.
“Two years on, I’m qualified and happily working as an engineer. Some of my friends are struggling to get placements after graduating from university, so I’m glad I took this route with Scottish Gas where after being fully trained, I was guaranteed a position,” she added.
“I would encourage anyone looking for a rewarding, secure career path to look at apprenticeships as a real option.”