GALASHIELS child care centre, Osito Nursery, has welcomed its youngest member to the team, thanks to Skills Development Scotland’s Employer Recruitment Incentive.
Borders woman Sam Millan, 18, arrived at Osito via a seven month Get Ready for Work programme through Borders College.
She impressed the staff at the nursery so much they decided to offer her the chance to join the team full-time as a Modern Apprentice.
Able to claim up to £2,000, the nursery – which also teaches Spanish – was delighted with the opportunity to hire not only an enthusiastic young worker but having the funding support in place to support Sam’s training and development requirements.
Jane Kemp, Osito Nursery general manager, said: “It’s been great; Sam is so much more confident in her work.
“She is loved by the children and our staff alike.
“She is just brilliant. Without having the (ERI) funding there we would have probably hired a fully qualified person.
“However, the funding made it possible for us to bring Sam on board. When the nursery starts to fill up again after the Summer break, Sam will have learnt a lot of the necessary skills to fully assist me and the team.”
Sam is grateful that she has found herself in her ideal career: “It has been a great experience working my way up, through my initial placements to being a full-time Modern Apprentice and having the opportunity to study towards professional qualifications.
“When I first started on the Get Ready for Work placement my confidence was low and I was quite shy with other people.
“However, the experience I got on my initial placement at the nursery and at college really helped me improve my people skills.”
The Employer Recruitment Incentive and Modern Apprenticeships are two of a number of national training programmes delivered by Skills Development Scotland.
Employers can claim up to £2,000 when they hire a person who has faced barriers to employment.
Visit www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk.
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Contact: Skills Development Scotland press team
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Website: http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk
