As part of our Year of Young People celebrations we headed out to Plean to speak to our local Employer Partner Plean Precast about their experience of supporting young people into their workforce in partnership with Stirling Community Enterprise (SCE).

Plean Precast is a reputable producer of high quality architectural and structural precast concrete.  They have operated for over 50 years and have been working with us to support their evolving recruitment needs.

In 2014 they were looking for an apprentice joiner and came to SCE to see if we could help them find the right person for the job.  Due to our ability to screen suitable candidates on behalf of employers we identified a young man, Chris Allan, who we knew had the potential to make the most of this fantastic opportunity to develop his skills whilst gaining invaluable work experience at the same time. It was a perfect fit! 4 years on, we caught up with Chris on the job to reflect on his amazing journey so far.

SCE: Can you describe your experience of being an apprentice for us?

“Being at SCE gave me confidence to cope with being thrown into the fire in the real working environment.  Being at college has taught me the skills of being a joiner but the real skill and work has come from learning on the job.  In this job,  there are very few margins for error and I had to learn to cope with a supervisor telling me “no that’s not right” and learning to work exactly the way the boss wants me to.”

SCE: What has the hardest part of the journey been so far?

“Learning what the job involves, thinking that I was right but recognizing that sometimes I wasn’t and coping with being corrected.  I had a much lower tolerance for being told when I think back to what I was like at the start.  I learned that if I follow direction I did improve and that was a tough thing to really accept as a young person at the start.”

SCE: What has the best part been of this whole experience so far?

“Knowing that I am going to qualify this year feels amazing!  I’m now getting to spend 1 day per week with the draughtsmen to learn a different aspect within the business which I am really enjoying. This job as allowed me to get my own place, it’s all coming together for me.”

SCE: What have you learned about yourself and what advice would you give to a young person who was in your shoes 4 years ago?

“I learned that although I thought I couldn’t do it at the start by working hard I have drastically improved.  My confidence has definitely increased throughout my time here because I am getting to apply myself. To other people I would say, you need to have a good attitude, be willing to learn and don’t give up if you want to succeed.”

Plean Precast is an example of a local business working in partnership with us to tap into the talent within Stirling’s communities.  SCE works with organisations such as Plean Precast to ensure that we understand their business needs and challenges, their ethos and values as an organisation.  We work to identify local people who fit the requirements of the businesses we support.

Organisations such as Plean Precast are changing the lives of the young people that they take on and the team at SCE could not be more proud of the progress that Chris has made through fair sustainable employment.

To read about Plean Precast’s experience of working with us click here.  If you are a local business looking for recruitment support contact Nicole DeBrincat, Programme Manager to discuss your needs.