Hear from Kevin Keane, the Director of Operations at Allied Surveyors, about their positive experience with the Graduate Apprenticeship scheme at Edinburgh Napier University.
How were you introduced to the Graduate Apprenticeship scheme?
I was introduced to the GA scheme through our direct link with Edinburgh Napier, as we were looking at recruiting in different ways to address skills gaps and support more inclusive routes into surveying.
We currently have 4 apprentices and they are spread across the central belt in year 1,2 and 3. We also have 2 third year placements and support one 4th year student in the workplace paid 2 days a week.
What are the main things that Graduate Apprentices have contributed to Allied Surveyors Scotland?
A real breath of fresh air! It’s been great to welcome new energy into the business, with people bringing passion, excitement, and fresh ideas and perspectives. It genuinely feels like Allied 2.0.
Whilst not operational roles yet, they are encouraging us to think differently and always look at new ways of working!
How has the Graduate Apprenticeship scheme helped to develop your business?
The next generations of Graduate Apprentices are extremely sociable and hungry for development – it has encouraged us to revitalise our offering to our colleagues.
We see Graduate Apprenticeships as an investment in our business – it’s the right thing to do for us and for the surveying profession as a whole.
Would you recommend Edinburgh Napier’s Graduate Apprenticeship scheme to other businesses? If so, why?
Yes - get involved and enjoy the journey. From 52 applicants, we welcomed 12 to our open-day assessment, joined by Edinburgh Napier, and went on to recruit four outstanding candidates. As surveying firms, we share a responsibility to invest in the future of our profession and safeguard the future of Scotland’s built environment.
Surveying has a strong future if we are prepared to invest in people, widen access, and support the next generation through inclusive, forward-thinking pathways.
Being an Edinburgh Napier alumnus yourself, would you have done a Graduate Apprenticeship had they been available to you at the time?
University wasn’t my immediate route - I didn’t get the grades at school - but it all worked out.
Looking back, a Graduate Apprenticeship would have been an ideal pathway - a practical, inclusive route into surveying - and I would absolutely have jumped at the chance.