This year’s Scottish Careers Week is all about shaping the future and helps promote the various paths available for Scotland’s young people can take in order for them to reach their career goals.
To celebrate this year’s Scottish Careers Week, Sixth Sense Training’s own Donna Sinclair and Lee Fyfe have sat down with us to tell us all about their career path from leaving school to where they are now.
Donna Sinclair, Assessor Verifier Interim Centre Co-Ordinator
So, a little bit about me, I left school mid-sixth year many years ago and me being a little anxious, I did not achieve many qualifications due to not being able to tolerate exam circumstances. I gained a job in a Glasgow hospital as an Auxiliary Nurse but didn’t like the travel so I moved into working in a factory environment where I worked for 10 years – it paid the bills. After this, I didn’t work for 8 years due to motherhood but once I was ready, I returned to Education to gain confidence and a Higher National Certificate (HNC) in Administration & Information Management which then led to 3 years of studying later I gained a Business BA Degree.
From there I gained a role in a Training environment as an Assessor, which has been a very satisfying role as I have been able to support people of all ages to gain Apprenticeships in many different sectors. I have also been able to build up a bank of relevant qualifications to support my own continuous professional development (CPD).
Since starting at Sixth Sense Training, I have been in the fortunate position to be able to undertake my very own Diploma in Digital Application Support SCQF L6 which I gained on January 2022 and I loved it so much, that I am now working towards Information Technology Telecommunications Professional SCQF L6.
In the past, If I had the opportunity to undertake an Apprenticeship this would have been the route I would have chosen. I have been working in an Assessing environment for 18 years now and they allow for progression and development for individuals allowing them to move up the career ladder.
Lee Fyfe, Digital Marketing & Recruitment
On the very last day of 6th year in High School, I remember walking out the front entrance and having no idea what path to take. I was torn between continuing my education at college and finding full-time employment, in the end, I decided to apply for an HNC Events Management course at South Lanarkshire College. Although it was a great experience overall and I achieved my HNC qualification, it wasn’t the correct path for me.
During my studies, I was also working at Superdrug part-time, this was my first proper experience in the world of work and throughout my 18 months of employment there, I very much enjoyed the face-to-face customer service and interaction. It was great to bring in some income during my time at college but with both of these experiences coming to an end, it was time for me to decide what career path was for me.
When weighing up my options, apprenticeships were a great interest of mine as I always believed I would enjoy earning and learning simultaneously to develop my professional skills and understanding. I came across Sixth Sense Training online as they were advertising a Digital Marketing Assistant Apprenticeship position. With very little digital marketing experience I had, I thought I would apply and here I am now, almost five years after I started.
During my time at Sixth Sense Training, I have managed to achieve two apprenticeship qualifications, one in Digital Marketing and the other in Creative Media, both brilliant programmes that allowed me to deepen my knowledge in the industry further. My apprenticeships and guidance from the team have allowed me to explore a variety of areas and now in the position of maintaining our social media channels and website as well as managing our recruitment department!
Eager to kickstart your career with a digital apprenticeship programme? Visit our live job board here or book a call with Lee using the link provided: https://calendly.com/leef-2