Glasgow is on track to become a hub for Scottish apprenticeships with seven finalists in this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
From the nine categories Scotland is nominated in, Glasgow finalists feature in six of those categories.
One apprentice category winner will be named Scotland’s Apprentice of the Year.
The winners will be announced at the Scottish Apprenticeship Week ceremony in Aberdeen on March 8.
Engineering firm BAE Systems is a finalist in the Large Employer of the Year Category, while teenager Penny Hay is a finalist in the Foundation Apprentice of the Year category.
Ms Hay, an 18-year-old civil engineer, was the first woman to choose a Foundation Apprenticeship in civil engineering in West Dunbartonshire.
She said: “At first I was unsure. I was not used to this. Then I realised, I’m going to be working in a male dominated environment so I’d better get used to this.
"That is just one of the reasons I am keen to do what I can to inspire other females to pursue engineering as a career.”
Financial firm Morgan Stanley is up against BAE in the Large Employer category, with employee Douglas Steer nominated in the Modern Apprentice of the Year SCQF Level 6+ category.
The 19-year-old said: “For as long as I can remember I have always wanted to work in finance. I loved working with numbers from an early age. As a child I was always asking people to give me sums.
"I have worked with people from all over the globe and at all levels of the business, exposure I would never have experienced if I had taken another path.”
Lochlie Construction Group, a small to medium-sized business, made it to the finals in the SME Employer of the Year category.
Claire McBain, business development manager at Lochlie, vouched for the significance of apprentices in the company’s business model.
Alexis Smith, a graduate apprentice at civil engineering firm GRAHAM, has been nominated in the Graduate Apprentice of the Year category.
Apprentice Ambassador of the Year nominee Missy-Anne Spence, 31, became the first apprentice at Lloyds Banking Group in 2012 and has since made significant strides in her career.
She has championed apprenticeships, mentoring new apprentices at the bank and promoting related projects.
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