Uptree

Andrew was looking for work experience in multiple different areas, and came across Uptree on social media.

“I came across Uptree actually on social media, it popped up on my instagram feed. I then looked through it and thought ‘this is great, there is work experience with Big 4 companies’. I did work experience with KPMG Glasgow and Lloyds Banking [Group] in Edinburgh. KPMG was first and it was like a completely new world. It’s the type of thing that I had never seen before. I had been to university open days and I had seen how universities ran and had spoken to lectures and professors.

But then from this, we were listening to one of the partners and he was kind of telling us about what’s actually possible when you come to a firm like KPMG and he heavily advised us to really consider our options before you just go down the university route. We did speed networking with a 1st year, a 2nd year and a 4th year on the Audit Apprenticeship and Tax Apprenticeships at Glasgow. One of them actually went to university and dropped out in his second year and then came into the apprenticeship programme. He was basically saying to us how unbelievably different it is and how much valuable experience he has gotten. He was saying that he was still close with the people that he was at university with but he’s seen a completely different side to student life.”

He believes Uptree opened multiple doors for him, providing the opportunity to make connections.

“Without Uptree, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of the work experience I did, I wouldn’t have known the people that I know now. Even just through my application for KPMG, I was going back and forth on LinkedIn with one of the apprentices that I met and she really helped me through it… So a big thanks to Uptree for opening those doors because without them, really none of this would have been possible.”

Uptree has completely changed Andrew’s career aspirations.

“Uptree has seriously changed my career aspirations. It changed from doing a degree at university to then doing an apprenticeship. When I sent in the UCAS application, I had no idea that any of this was even a thing.”

Andrew encourages other young people to fully consider their options.

“First thing I would say is seriously consider your options, don’t throw all your eggs into 1 basket. Really just take a step back and it sounds weird to say but forget what your parents say because a lot of the time they say go to uni and that might not be right for you. Take a step back and really just look through all the ways you could go. Whether that be university, apprenticeships or just going to work, don’t let others have an impact on the decision that you feel is right for you.

Do not feel pressured at all that university is the only way to go. I know this is making it sound like university is a bad thing, it’s not, it’s brilliant but it really depends on the individual. Seriously consider your options before you apply and do not, whatever you do, just go to university for the sake of going to uni. Don’t let it be a default. Don’t let it be that you go to university, you don’t know what to do and you just go for the sake of it because that could mean you end up on a course that isn’t right for you. You could end up in a career pathway that you don’t enjoy and that could really set you up for a very negative few years. If you want to go to uni, make sure you know roughly what you want to do, whether that be you know going into STEM, going into the arts. Make sure that you know roughly if you want to do something like Chemistry, that you are interested in Chemistry, don’t just do it because it sounds good.

Seriously consider your options and don’t feel pressured to go into something that you don’t feel is right for you.”