Apprentice Day for Highland Youth Parliament Members

28th March 2019

The 14th Highland Youth Parliament Apprentice Day was held on Tuesday, 26th March 2019.

Highland Youth Parliament, the elected Youth Parliament for the Highlands, holds an annual ‘Apprentice Day' on which members of HYP shadow Senior Managers across public sector services. The aim of the Apprentice Day is for services to gauge young people's views of their service and for services to become more aware of Highland Youth Parliament and young peoples’ views. It also provides an opportunity to give young people a better understanding of the services provided for them and how services impact on and consult with young people. There were16 young people from across Highland ‘shadowing’ representatives from High Life Highland, The Highland Council, NHS Highland, Police Scotland, Fire and Rescue Service Scotland, the University of the Highlands and Islands and HM Prison Service who took part this year.

Officials met their Apprentices at the start of their day and were accompanied by the young people in a range of meetings and business activities in and around Inverness. The day concluded with an informal discussion reflecting on the day.

Donna Manson, Highland Council’s Chief Executive said: "It’s not easy choosing a career path at a young age which can set out your entire future. Recognising the challenge of making career choices that face our young people, I am delighted along with Senior Managers and Members to support Apprentice Day to help give the young apprentices an insight into the workings of Local Government. While we can share our experience, it’s also refreshing to receive feedback from the apprentices on how they view the Council. I wish all the apprentices taking part, a productive and enjoyable day."

Highland Youth Convener, Esme Leitch commented: "Apprentice Day is a real strength of the Youth Team at High Life Highland and I really enjoyed taking part this year. It is a unique opportunity for both the young people and the officials they are shadowing to learn from one another, and gain new insights. Deciding what you want to do after school can be really difficult for a lot of young people and involvement in Apprentice Day is one way to make those decisions more informed, especially for someone already considering a career in the Council. I hope our young people leave the day more excited about job prospects within Highland and the officials make the best use of their chance to consult with their apprentices about their work. It was a really beneficial day for both parties and a lot of fun for everyone involved."