Direct Partners

New success stories to celebrate this week! 🎉

Congratulations to the candidates who completed their Early Learning and Childcare short course with Direct Partners, delivered in partnership with JobFit.

The course included:
- Accredited training, including Play Types, Play Spaces, Play Theories, Child Protection, Effective Communication, Child Development and Health & Safety
- Help with your CV, applications and interview technique (including the STARR method)
- Group sessions and 1-1 coaching
- A Meet the Employer session

Every candidate is guaranteed an interview with our partner employers. Roles are full-time, part-time, fixed-term, term-time and supply, and there's potential to progress into a Modern Apprenticeship where funding is available.

Every member of the group has left us valuable feedback.

It's exactly the kind of journey we love being part of — real people, real support, real opportunity. Huge thanks to JobFit for the partnership, and to our own team for making it such a positive experience from start to finish.

Here's to the next chapter for this fantastic group — we can't wait to hear how they get on! 💙

12 weeks on from our Workplace Skills in Banking pre-employment course, 77% of our candidates who attended are now in positive outcomes.

This means either in employment, volunteering, or further education.

We wish our Candidates the best of luck in their new adventures!

Are you an employer or learner who wants to get involved?
Contact us today - [email protected]

The course was delivered by Direct Partners staff and funded under the .careers Framework, managed by CCP.

We love hearing from learners who discover new skills and confidence through their training journey.

Today, we’re delighted to share some fantastic feedback from one of our Data Analytics graduates, Pranith Chinnaraj, who recently completed the course with us as a Team Member Customer Agent from Tesco.

Starting a completely new area of study can feel daunting, but they found the programme both engaging and informative from start to finish. They also highlighted the exceptional support they received from their trainer, Ziska, whose supportive guidance and feedback helped them build confidence and develop a strong understanding of the course material. Pranith is now looking forward to putting these new skills into practice in her career.

At Direct Partners Training Provider, we believe that great learning experiences are built on expert support, clear guidance, and a commitment to helping every learner reach their potential. Feedback like this reflects the dedication of our team and the positive impact personalised support can have on learner success.

Congratulations on completing the course, and thank you for sharing your experience with us!

Our Data Analytics Trainer, Kaden, has written our latest article on Business Scotland about his experience training and upskilling adults with data skills.

Check out the article:

https://www.businessscotlandmagazine.com/training-and-upskilling-adults-with-data-skills

Our new Childcare Pre-employment Course started today!

Our latest Short Course, in Early Years & Childcare helps give individuals an introduction to the idea of working with children, gain new certificates and also the opportunity to interview with one of our partner employers. The course is being delivered under the JobFit framework, managed by CCP.

- Accredited training, including Play Types, Play Spaces, Play Theories, Child Protection, Effective Communication, Child Development and Health & Safety
- Help with your CV, applications and interview technique (including the STARR method)
- Group sessions and 1-1 coaching
- A Meet the Employer session

Every candidate is guaranteed an interview with our partner employers. Roles are full-time, part-time, fixed-term, term-time and supply, and there's potential to progress into a Modern Apprenticeship where funding is available.

Mon–Thu, 9:30am–1:30pm
At our offices near Haymarket Station, Edinburgh

Non-UK citizens will need to confirm their right to work (share code) at the initial assessment call.

We're hiring: Trainee Digital Marketing Trainer/Assessor 🚀

Got the digital marketing know-how? We want you passing it on.
We're looking for an ambitious grad to manage and teach on our Digital Marketing course, bringing your own content, social and campaign experience straight into the classroom (and onto our own channels too).

This is an Edinburgh-based position - you must be able to live and commute to our city centre office.

✅ Create, manage and grow our organic content and social media
✅ Teach and support candidates on our Digital Marketing course
✅ Confident on the phone and on video calls
✅ Full structured training and mentorship as you progress
✅ Full-Time · Starting £27,000

Ready to turn your degree into a career that shapes other people's careers too?

Send your CV and cover letter to [email protected]
📅 Closing date: 25th September 2026

We're hiring: Trainee Business Administrator 🚀

Organised. Detail-driven. Ready to keep a growing business running

This is an Edinburgh-based position - you must be able to live and commute to our city centre office.

We're looking for a Trainee Business Administrator to bring operational excellence to our compliance processes, delivering Government-contracted programmes means precision matters, and we'll train you to do it right.

✅ Strong Microsoft Office skills and comfortable managing databases
✅ Trained on our bespoke software to meet compliance requirements
✅ Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail
✅ Able to work independently and as part of the wider team
✅ Full-Time · Starting £26,000 (DOE)

No prior experience in Government-funded programmes needed, just the focus and drive to learn fast.

Send your CV and cover letter to [email protected]
📅 Closing date: 25th September 2026

Five new success stories to celebrate this week! 🎉

Congratulations to the candidates who've just completed their Introduction to Childcare short course with Direct Partners, delivered in partnership with Fife Gingerbread — all of them single parents taking a brilliant step towards a new career.

Every one of the group has passed with flying colours, and they're now heading into 6-month paid placements as Pupil Support Assistants in local primary schools across Fife, supported by Fife Council, and every single candidate feedback for the coure has been a clean sweep 10/10!

It's exactly the kind of journey we love being part of — real people, real support, real opportunity. Huge thanks to Fife Gingerbread and Fife Council for the partnership, and to our own team for making it such a positive experience from start to finish.

Here's to the next chapter for this fantastic group — we can't wait to hear how they get on! 💙

Today marks the very first Scottish Employability Day — and we're proud to be part of it! 🎉

At Direct Partners, we've spent over a decade proving that the right training partnership can genuinely change lives. Our relationship with Spring Oscars , a childcare provider across Edinburgh and East Lothian, is one of our best examples: since 2013, around 65% of their workforce has come through our pre-employment courses, Guaranteed Interviews, and ongoing mentorship into a Modern Apprenticeship.

And that partnership keeps growing. Thanks to our connection with Laura Adie, Operations Manager at Spring Oscars, we've now supported our very first East Lothian candidate all the way from pre-employment course to job offer — proof this model works wherever you start from.

As Laura puts it, the constant support candidates get "from the classroom right through to those first months in the job" is what makes the real difference — to them, and to staff retention.

That's what Scottish Employability Day is all about: real people, real support, real outcomes.

📖 Read the full story: A Long-Standing Partnership Shaping Edinburgh's Childcare Workforce - Business Scotland Magazine



East Lothian Works

To round off our campaign, we're celebrating Lauren Page and her incredible career journey.

Lauren left school in 2018 after completing 6th year, with plans to become a PE teacher. She started a university course but soon realised that further education wasn't the right path for her.

Today, Lauren is the Managing Director at Corstorphine Gas Services. She joined the company in 2021 as an Admin Assistant and has worked her way through roles including Office Manager and General Manager before taking on the day-to-day running of the business.

Along the way, Lauren has continued to invest in herself, completing SVQs in Business Administration, Management, Digital Marketing and Data Analytics—qualifications that have played an important part in her career progression.

Her advice to young people is simple:

"Work hard and never stop looking for opportunities to learn. Whether it's additional training, qualifications, asking questions or learning from the people around you, every opportunity helps you grow."

Lauren's journey is a brilliant reminder that your first plan doesn't have to be your final destination. Sometimes, finding the right path means trying something, realising it isn't for you, and having the confidence to take a different direction.

Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep looking for opportunities. You never know where your path might take you.