We’re proud to take part in this year’s #NoWrongPath campaign to raise awareness of a range of career routes and pathways that will always remain open to realising potential, no matter what results day brings.
Launched in 2017, No Wrong Path is a social media movement by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). It has won awards and offers inspiration and reassurance to young people getting their results. This year, Results Day is on Tuesday, 5th August and we’re sharing stories from our team, mentors and supporters to show young people there are always options, no matter what news the day may bring later this week.
Next up is Lewis Macpherson, who is the son of one of our wonderful mentors at St John’s Academy in Kinross! Lewis has had an incredibly varied career path, having studied nursing but worked as a chef, a kitchen porter and a farmhand to name a few!
“After I left school, I did my first year of Nursing at Dundee University then decided to take a year out to take the time to make the right decision. After a year out of university spent working I came back to give it another go. But after about 5 or 6 months I decided to leave the course permanently as I realised it just wasn’t right for me.
“I had always enjoyed cooking at home, and had worked as a kitchen porter here and there during high school. When I took a year out of nursing, I had been looking for a job outside of healthcare to take a break from that industry, and so I fell into a job as a Chef in a busy restaurant in Dundee, whereI was living at the time.
“When I was around 14, I really wanted to be a vet. So I had started looking for experience working with animals. I spent 3 of my school Easter holidays helping out on a farm during lambing season, and really enjoyed it. As well as this, I also worked on a dairy farm. Even after I decided I no longer wanted to be a vet, I still enjoyed being on the farm and spent around 5 or 6 years doing shifts there whenever I was able to during college and university. It was a great environment and everyone worked well together, and I’d still go back and do the occasional shift now if I could!
“Now, I’m a couple of months into my Graduate Apprenticeship in Quantity Surveying after doing a HND in the topic at college. I can see myself in this job for a good while, but I do always plan on taking every opportunity that’s given to me throughout my career to work my way up the ladder and see where things take me.
“I feel that there is a lot of pressure on young people to have a plan for the rest of their life all set out by the time you leave school. If you do have a life and career all planned out then fair enough but there are plenty of routes to lots of different jobs.
“Take the time to enjoy your time at school and find something that is right for you. There’s no rule to say you have to do the same job forever. Get out into the world and try different jobs even if you do just a week of work experience and hate every second of that job, you can still say to yourself that you have tried it and be proud of that.
“To anyone that is opening their exam results this week the hardest part is over and nothing will change the outcome now, but like I said before do not let the piece of paper define you. If you know what you want to do in life don’t let anything or anyone get in the way of that.
“One piece of advice that I’d give to young people receiving their results this week, is that your life will not be defined by a bit of paper that you achieve as a teenager. I left school with 4 Highers in Music, Spanish, English and Biology. I enjoyed all of these subjects, but I rarely use any of them in my day to day work.
“I think there’s a lot of pressure on young people to have a plan for the rest of their life all set out by the time they leave school. If you do have a life and career planned out, thats fair enough – but there are plenty of routes to lots of different jobs.
“I’d say take the time to enjoy your time at school and find what’s right for you. There’s no rule to say you have to do the same job forever. Get out into the world and try different things, even if you just do a week of work experience and hate every minute of it, you can still say to yourself that you gave it a try, and you can be proud of that.
“To anyone opening their results this week, the hardest part is over and nothing will change the outcome now, but like I said before – do not let the piece of paper define you. If you know what you want to do in life, don’t let anyone or anything get in the way of that.”
If Lewis’s story has inspired you to share your own, there’s still plenty of time for you to get involved, to inspire and reassure young people. We welcome everyone involved with MCR Pathways to share their stories – from young people, mentors, trustees, partners and our wider supporters.
From Monday 4th – Friday 8th August 2025, tell us your name, what you did when you left school and what you do now. Print out and fill in the #NoWrongPath 2025 template below, and send a photo of you holding it to marketing.comms@mcrpathways.org
Download the template – https://www.dyw.scot/uploads/1/0/5/5/105538585/nowrongpath_24_-_printable_participation_template.pdf
Could you dedicate an hour a week to become a volunteer mentor with MCR Pathways, and help a young person get on a path to realising their potential?
Register now: https://mcrpathways.org/become-a-mentor/
