Teenager Emily Copeland combined her passion for social media and love for football on her Foundation Apprenticeship to score thousands more online followers for her local team.
Emily chose a Foundation Apprenticeship in Creative and Digital Media during her final year at Dumfries High School.
The avid Queen of the South fan secured her own placement at the club where she managed their social media platforms and successfully grew the social media following for the Doonhamers to 7,000 – a personal target she had set herself.
Emily developed fresh, dynamic content and introduced innovative player interviews that boosted engagement on social media by more than 30,730 in just three months.
Emily, 18, of Dumfries, said: “Choosing a Foundation Apprenticeship meant I could support my club and gain valuable work experience while still at school.
“I was given free rein and trusted to work independently, which improved my confidence and professional skills including organisation and time management.
“It strengthened my resolve to pursue a career in sports media.”
Emily also developed critical skills in campaign delivery and live event coordination and played a vital role on match days, capturing content from multiple camera angles before editing it for release.
She honed her understanding of the impact of social media, learned how to adapt posts depending on match results and was key in promoting the club’s charity work at Christmas and raising awareness of its community initiatives.
Emily added: “I’ve been a supporter since I was six, when Dad started taking me to games, so working on match days was a massive buzz. The players really engaged with the content and I loved getting positive feedback from fans on social media.”
Foundation Apprenticeships are made for business, to provide pupils with the skills employers need, offering industry insight to gain a work-based learning qualification from SCQF Level 4 up to the same level as a Higher.
Emily’s contribution delivering tangible results for the club in areas where they lacked skills and resources and was highlighted in a local magazine, promoting Foundation Apprenticeships to more young people.
The club was so impressed they have taken on a new Foundation Apprentice who Emily coaches while studying for an HNC in Business.
Dan Armstrong, Queen of the South Football Club Chief Executive Officer said: “Emily was brilliant – she went above and beyond what was asked of her and clearly wanted to excel. She added real value to our social media offer.
“Foundation Apprenticeships are a great way to bring fresh ideas, perspectives and creativity into the Club. We are a community team, and employability is one of our key areas, so being able to support young talent is really important to us.”
Emily’s achievements have led to her being a finalist in the Foundation Apprentice of the Year category at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards.
Martin Goldie, SDC-Learn Modern Apprenticeship and Foundation Apprenticeship Assessor (Social Media & Digital Marketing) said: “Emily was a star candidate.
“She has a great nature, was very focused on developing herself and her skills and really threw herself into her work.”
The winner of the Foundation Apprentice of the Year category will be revealed at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards, which takes place 27 February in the run up to Scottish Apprenticeship Week (3 to 7 March). Find out more about the award finalists and the event by visiting apprenticeships.scot/awards.
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