Apprenticeships
Classroom to Construction Site: Hands-On Learning for Foundation Apprentices
Foundation Apprenticeships create opportunities for pupils to take their first steps into industry. With our delivery in North Lanarkshire showcasing this by allowing a group of pupils form Coatbridge and St Ambrose High Schools undertaking their Foundation Apprenticeship on a live site.
In partnership with Kier, North Lanarkshire Council and hub South West Scotland we are able to deliver Foundation Apprenticeships on the site of St Kevin’s Community Hub. Allowing the young people to experience life in construction and understand what really happens on a live site.
Running through the duration of the academic year, from August 2024 to June 2025, the students attend every Friday and spend the full day in the environment of a live site. Throughout the year they will learn skills in bricklaying, joinery and more, along with soft skills such as employability. A significant part of their Foundation Apprenticeship is the completion of a work based project. To complete this they are building benches that will go into the Bargeddie Community Gardens, allowing the young people to make a tangible positive impact in their own community.
We thank our partners for the opportunity and experience provided to these young people. These collaborations provide students with insights into the construction industry’s expectations and opportunities, bridging the gap between education and employment. We believe that investing in apprentices is an investment in the future of the construction industry. Through collaboration, training, and real-world experience, we are preparing the next generation of skilled professionals who will go on to shape Scotland’s construction sector for years to come.
Inspiring Potential since 2001.
Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2025
Scottish Apprenticeship Week is a big deal here at tigers. We’re always excited to hear from candidates about their apprenticeships. We want to know what they learned and how they’ve grown as people, both personally and professionally.
During the week, we caught up with both Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships on their experiences, we had a look behind the scenes and made sure to have fun throughout the week.
Our content from the week
To kickstart Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2025, we had the pleasure of joining Jackie Baillie MSP on a visit to Drumfork Nursery & Family Centre in Helensburgh. The visit was a fantastic opportunity to witness the impact of apprenticeships in early years education and to celebrate the commitment of those shaping the future of childcare.
To read this blog in full, please visit: Drumfork Nursery & Family Centre visit with Jackie Baillie MSP
Caitlyn shared her journey of completing a Level 4 (SCQF Level 9) Modern Apprenticeship in Early Years at Lullaby Lane Nurseries and how this has prepared her for her next steps into leadership!
We spoke to Jayden, Curtis & Lillie who showcase the benefits of the apprenticeship family, having completed Foundation Apprenticeships while at school, they are looking ahead with ambitions to undertake Modern Apprenticeships!
Having studied to become an Art Teacher, Katie struggled to find permanent work and looked towards Early Years. Now completing a Modern Apprenticeship at Lullaby Lane Nurseries, Katie is loving life in Early Years and we were delighted to be able to share her story!
Sophie first joined tigers as a Foundation Apprentice while at school, before completing an Early Years Modern Apprenticeship at Lullaby Lane Nurseries and is now back at tigers group as a Digital Marketing Apprentice!
Chloe has found her way into Construction through joining the team at tigers as an apprentice trainer! Working with the experienced team at our Construction Academy, Chloe is ready to inspire more young women into the industry!
We also went behind the scenes at our Construction Academy, with a day in the life, finding out what a day looks like completing a Modern Apprenticeship with tigers!
@tigersgroup_ 🦺 Spend a day with us at our Construction Academy and find out more about what a #ModernApprenticeship with tigers entails! #ScotAppWeek25 #MadeForBusiness #InspiringPotential ♬ original sound - tigers
We had some fun, inviting all our apprentices to take park in the sunglasses trend, Scottish Apprenticeship Week edition 😎
@tigersgroup_ 😎 Sunglasses trend Scottish Apprenticeship Week edition 🕶 #scotappweek25 #madeforbusiness #inspiringpotential #sunglassestrend #sunglasses #fyp #youngpeople ♬ original sound - 𝓆𝒾𝓁 - 𝔮𝔦𝔩
Paradigm Landscapes shared a thought-provoking blog on how they support the next generation, celebrating the opportunities that apprenticeships create for young people and businesses across Scotland!
Read this blog in full: Scottish Apprenticeship Week: How Paradigm Landscapes Supports the Next Generation
We were also proud to share a new blog, on what has been A Year of Exceptional Achievement in Qualification Delivery, which included highlighted starting Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2025 with over 500 live candidates, all progressing through various qualifications. Along with having successfully certificated over 1000 candidates over the past year.
Read this blog in full: A Year of Exceptional Achievement in Qualification Delivery
We’re already looking forward to Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2026, see you there!
Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2024
Scottish Apprenticeship Week is always a highlight of the calendar here at tigers. We love to hear from candidates on their experiences during their apprenticeships, not only to hear about what they learned but also on how they’ve grown as an individual.
During the week we spoke to a range of Apprenticeships candidates, across Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships.
Aaron, Callum & Jack all completed Modern Apprenticeships as part of tigers Joint Venture with Morgan Sindall Construction and since completed their qualifications are now employed by Dalcon Civil Engineering working across Scotland!
Amyleigh & Harry first joined tigers when they undertook Foundation Apprenticeships while still at school. Since then they have both taken the next step and moved on to Modern Apprenticeships with Primrose City Nursery!
We also caught up with G4 Claims who have been upskilling their staff through SVQ’s in Management
Ewan found his opportunity with Paradigm Landscapes through tigers Joint Venture with Morgan Sindall Construction, he’s since completed his Modern Apprenticeship & joined Paradigm Landscapes as a Junior Landscaper!
We rounded off the week with Hollie sharing her story. After completing her Level 3 Hollie has taken the step up to Team Leader at Lullaby Lane, becoming a role model & inspiring the team around her as she now works towards her Level 4!
Scottish Apprenticeship Week also gave us an opportunity to again hear from our Schools partners, sharing the voices of teachers and pupils from Glasgow and West on the impact Foundation Apprenticeships have had in their schools.
You can find all of these videos over on our YouTube!
We’re already looking forward to Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2025!
Clare's journey back to the workplace
I found out from a family friend about a new programme starting called the Women Returners. This programme was developed to help mothers with young children return to the workplace. As I had not worked since my daughter and son were born, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to gain some new skills which might help me to secure future employment.
When researching the programme, I found out that a local training company called tigers were delivering the courses in my area. I went onto to tigers website and saw that they delivered lots of different training programmes and had excellent testimonials from a wide variety of people. This gave me the confidence to apply to join the programme. I was very nervous and unsure of myself to begin with but the guy running the course put me at ease straight away. I found attending the course not only helped to build my confidence, I also gave me practical Microsoft Office experience. As part of the course, we were helped with CV writing, Job Applications and Interview Techniques. This was the kind of support I needed to get back into the workplace, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to return to the workplace.
I was told by the tutor that there was a vacancy for an administrator at Tigers and he thought I should apply. I was very anxious when I was invited for any interview. However, at the interview the panel were all very welcoming and helped to put me at ease. They told me about the company and what the main duties of the job role would be. They also assured me that they were aware that I had small children at nursery and school and where more than happy to be flexible with my working hours.
I was extremely happy to find out the same week of the interview that I had been successful and would be given the opportunity to join the team at Tigers. After a probationary period, I was offered a permanent contract, and was delighted. They also offered me the opportunity to gain a Modern Apprenticeship in Business & Administration Level 3. As I hadn’t studied since college over 10 years previously and had a young family, I was really worried about not being able to complete a qualification. However, they assured me that it was a work-based qualification and I would not be expected to do work at home. I meet with my assessor who explained all about the qualification and how my work duties would be part of the evidence needed for each unit. She also explained that she would visit me at work on a regular basis to observe me working and go over each unit and what was involved it gaining the evidence. I found this to be a really rewarding experience and it really helped me to understand my job better. Going through the individual units with my assessor gave me the confidence in my own ability and also gave me excellent new skills, which I could bring to my job.
I am really thankful to Tigers for giving me the opportunity to develop and grow new skills with excellent qualification which will help me to have a future career.
Clare Johnstone
Trainee Co-Ordinator
Young people invest in a programme they can bank on
Tigers, along with Royal Bank of Scotland and We Are Futures have been delighted to deliver the CareerSense Find Your Path employability programme
Celebration, cake and connection at tigers
In partnership with RBS and We Are Futures, tigers have been delighted to deliver CareerSense Find Your Path to a group of young people, offering them skills workshops, one-to-one mentoring support from a bank colleague and a paid four-week work experience placement at the bank.
On Monday, April 11th, we were excited to welcome some of our young people into tigers HQ, along with their mentors from NatWest. The morning began with a mentoring session, with the group reflecting on their time on the course, and also their work experience placement.
In the afternoon, we welcomed a selection of guests from the bank, We Are Futures and tigers, with the young people delivering presentations, but not before a spot of lunch!
“What I really learnt – tigers and NatWest are GREAT people!”
Amy Taylor, learner
Coming up one-by-one after lunch to deliver the presentations, the young people demonstrated the development of their curiosity, bravery, confidence and resilience over the past few months. Each had something different to share about their time on the course and their work placement, along with the skills they had learnt, the challenges they had faced, and how they overcame them.
Finishing off with certificates, photographs and a slice of cake, it was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the hard work our young people had put in over the last few months. Whilst we were sad to see them go for the final time, we remain excited for their future career prospects,
What’s next for CareerSense Find Your Path? We’ll be excited to share some information with you about how we’ll be able to help another group of young people explore the world of employment very soon!
Lullaby Lane supports building the future workforce of ELC
About Lullaby Lane Nurseries
Lullaby Lane has been operating since 2013, we are an attachment led nursery meeting the emotional needs of our children. We have two nurseries who are providing childcare for children 0-5 years old. We are currently working with around 150 families across Bearsden and Milngavie area. Currently we have 41 people employed with us and we are continuing to recruit to provide further opportunities for our team. We are a nursery that prioritise starting with the adults in the lives of our children as, the team must feel valued for them to provide emotional care for our children and families.
Our Commitment to Apprenticeships
At Lullaby Lane 15 of the 41 team are currently apprentices who are undertaking their SVQ level 3 or 4 in children and young people, we believe that Modern Apprenticeships provide people with the skills as well as the knowledge. All our apprentices undertake additional training opportunities that builds their confidence. Due to the nursery being attachment led the team all undertake training with Dr Suzanne Zeedyk that supports them to understand brain development and why the first 3 years in a child’s life is the most formative time the brain grows.
We are working with Tigers Early Years to create an MA model that allows them to take time out their working week to complete their qualification. We believe that Early Years is one of the most important jobs and the team must feel valued. Tigers supports us by allowing the assessor to come into the nursery and do observations to support the apprentices to be guided to how they work with the children.
“I trained with Tigers in SVQ Social Services (Children & Young People) and the best thing I’ve taken away has been learning how our bodies and brain works and focusing on secure attachment and play. My training led to a job in Early Years working at Lullaby Lane, undertaking the Modern Apprenticeship programme gave me the knowledge and skills to take this into the nursery.”
Chris Keane, Depute Manager, Lullaby Lane Nurseries
We believe that Modern Aprrenticeships are a valuable qualification that helps people to gain skills and knowledge in the career they have a passion for.