Thanos Leftheriotis is a relief worker in our Aberdeen South branch. He started his Modern Apprenticeship in June last year and finished it in February 2022.

Thanos is originally from Greece and came to Scotland to study psychology at the University of Aberdeen. After completing his degree in 2019 he started a new course in counselling part time. “I loved [the city] so I stayed here. I started working as a Support Worker while completing my degree, and now I’m going to do an Advocacy job.”

He decided to do the Modern Apprenticeship in order to develop his career and achieve his SVQ. “I wanted to progress further in my career and develop more skills. I liked that it gave you a qualification but let you do it at your own pace independently. On the Modern Apprenticeship I learned about regulations and laws and more about why we follow certain procedures.”

“Through the Modern Apprenticeship I was able to gain a lot more confidence in my knowledge and abilities and wasn’t depending on anyone else as much. I built a lot of theoretical knowledge on what I was already doing day-to-day.”

“I found it so rewarding to be able to go back to my team with the knowledge I learned on the Modern Apprenticeship and have confidence in what to do next.”

The most rewarding part of the Modern Apprenticeship for Thanos was the feedback. “Getting feedback, especially at the start when I wasn’t sure what I was doing, was great. Getting feedback makes you feel nice.

Thanos is about to leave his current job to work as an Advocate but working with the people he supported was a highlight of the Modern Apprenticeship for him. “I was very proud to have a great relationship with them, I worked for two and a half months there and when I decided to leave it was almost with tears in my eyes. I was there to support and enable them and make their lives better.”

Thanos would recommend the Modern Apprenticeship to anyone considering applying.

“It’s a great opportunity and it’s really nice that it’s funded and it helps so many people. I am very happy about it. I would encourage everyone who can do it to do it.”

If you would like to read more stories like Thanos's you can go here.