Igniting Brighter Futures: MCR Pathways and Skills Development Scotland Working Together
3 March 2026
To support Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2026, Chief Executive of MCR Pathways, Sharon McIntyre writes on the important partnership work to ensure young people can achieve their potential through pathways, including apprenticeships.
Care Experienced young people can face unique challenges shaping expectations of what feels possible. MCR Pathways was established to challenge that reality, ensuring every young person who needs one has a trusted adult mentor in their corner.
Through consistent, relationship-based mentoring, young people build confidence, raise aspirations and develop the belief that positive destinations are within reach.
Apprenticeships offer more than a job
The charity’s joint working agreement with Skills Development Scotland reflects a shared commitment and relentless determination to ensure Care Experienced young people are not only supported to achieve their potential in school, but are empowered to progress confidently onto positive destinations, be that apprenticeships, college, university or employment.
Apprenticeships offer much more than a qualification. For growing numbers of young people, they represent the first steps towards a career, independence, structure, income and belonging. The spark of aspiration can ignite in many ways. For some, it’s through the guidance of a trusted adult mentor at school.
One young person, unsure of his future direction and how school could help him find his bearing, decided to try mentoring to build confidence and explore options.
A shared interest in mechanical work and the Army helped establish trust with his MCR Pathways mentor and opened the door to meaningful conversations about career pathways. Weekly meetings, often over hot chocolate and biscuits, helped sharpen his focus on his interests, strengths and ambitions.
Help to reimagine what futures can look like
Together, they identified the qualifications required for an apprenticeship and secured a weekly work placement at a local garage. The experience provided practical insight and strengthened his motivation.
With a clear plan in place, he chose to remain in school to gain the necessary qualifications. His confidence grew and his focus sharpened. Last year, he secured an apprenticeship with the same employer who had supported his placement. A milestone that once felt beyond reach.
Marking such milestones and making the transition from school to the next step is vitally important. But it can present additional barriers: navigating new environments, expectations and responsibilities requires resilience and sustained support.
The partnership between MCR Pathways and Skills Development Scotland recognises that widening access to opportunity must be matched by continuity of access to a trusted adult.
Increasing access
MCR Pathways is extending mentoring into Scottish colleges, enabling more young people to maintain those vital relationships during this critical transition. That consistency can be decisive in sustaining attendance, engagement and progression.
Employers and training providers also play a vital role. By fostering inclusive cultures, communicating expectations clearly and recognising potential as well as performance, they create environments where young people from Care-Experienced and other challenging backgrounds can thrive, strengthening Scotland’s future workforce in the process.
This collaboration reflects a shared ambition: that every young person who needs one has a trusted adult mentor, supported by a coordinated ecosystem providing a vibrant guiding light on pathways to brighter futures.
Find out more about becoming a volunteer mentor – mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor
Learn more about becoming an education, community or corporate partner – mcrpathways.org/support-us
