Projekt 42, a charity aiming to tackle poor mental health in Edinburgh, has joined forces with Queen Margaret University (QMU), Edinburgh, to create a workplace apprenticeship programme with a difference.

Investing in the education and progression of its staff, the charity will not only put two employees through a BA (Hons) Business Management degree at the University, it will also continue to pay staff members over the living wage throughout their studies.

Founder, Sara Hawkins, implemented the programme in a bid to encourage staff to learn new skills and gain the confidence to take on new roles within the charity. Part-time Studio Manager, Daisy Tulloch, and Studio and Activities Manager, Matthew Whale, will be the first employees to take part in the workplace apprenticeship programme this autumn.

Taking place over the course of four years, Matthew and Daisy will attend QMU one day per week, with the remaining time spent on work-based learning. The first time at university for both employees, the business management degree will allow them to develop skills across a variety of areas including: finance; staff management; marketing; business law; organisational behaviour and human resources.

Both Matthew and Daisy initially joined the charity in volunteering roles, before taking on paid roles within the organisation earlier this year.

Commenting on the new workplace apprenticeship programme, Sara Hawkins said: “Through our work with QMU we are now in the unique position of being able to offer staff at Projekt 42 the opportunity to complete a fully funded degree, while still taking home their normal salary.

“Ordinarily these types of work place learning programmes aren’t available to small charities, but with our commitment to upskilling staff we worked closely with the university to create this opportunity for current and future employees. My hope is to continue to work with QMU over the coming years to grow our workplace apprenticeship scheme and create a workforce which is not only highly skilled and motivated, but also feels valued as a result of this investment in their future.”

Dr Andrew Bratton, Programme Leader and Lecturer in the Business School at Queen Margaret University, said: “We are delighted that Projekt 42 is amongst the first group of employers to benefit from the new BA (Hons) Business Management graduate apprenticeship programme. Queen Margaret University is excited about partnering with socially-minded employers like Projekt 42 and I look forward to working with Projekt 42 graduate apprentices to help them grow and develop into effective mission-driven organisational leaders.”

For more information on Projekt 42 please visit  www.projekt42.co.uk.