Each week, we ask small businesses key questions.
Here we speak to David Massey, managing director of the Apprentice Store in Inverness.
How and why did you start in business?
I started the Apprentice Store as a not-for-profit social enterprise because I wanted to put something back into the sector that has given me a great career for 27 years.
Information technology is facing a major shortage of new recruits and I, in partnership with my wife, Irene, want to use the opportunity to help the many young people in the Highlands for whom IT would not normally be an option, find employment.
The idea is simple. All Apprentice Store apprentices, aged 16-24, are employed on two-year programmes, working with our mentors and customers to gain experience and industry-recognised IT qualifications.
At least 10% of our workforce will be disadvantaged in some way – disabled, from disadvantaged backgrounds, or long-term unemployed.
How did you get to where you are today?
I left school at 16 and joined the Youth Training scheme – similar to the current Modern Apprentice scheme – which allowed me to work with computers.
I then joined the RAF as an avionics technician, looking after the electronic systems fitted to aircraft, and came north to the Highlands to work on the Nimrod’s navigation system as a programmer.
In 1998, I left the RAF after 13 years’ service and have since worked for a number of companies in a consultancy capacity.
I ended up running an Inverness-based IT company, designing and building an early-adopter Cloud platform.
The Apprentice Store is something new, exciting and socially valuable for me to get my teeth into, while I also continue as an IT consultant.
Who helped you?
I have struggled over the years due to my lack of formal qualifications, poor performance in skills assessments and the negative perceptions of ex-service personnel held by some employers, but I wouldn’t be where I am today if a few people hadn’t seen something in me.
The Apprentice Store will, hopefully, stop some of today’s young people going through the same thing.
I enjoy teams and working with other like-minded people and organisations, whether it be through networks like the Federation of Small Businesses, chamber of commerce and industry sector groups, or engaging with employability programmes involving young people.
I have also worked for some amazing clients and great employers who have been prepared to invest time and money in me.
What has been your biggest mistake?
Things that go wrong are merely opportunities to learn how to do things better/differently. However, I do sometimes let my heart rule my head and continue with projects long after it is time to walk away.
What is your greatest achievement?
Building an enterprise and team from the ground up that delivered excellent cloud services and was recognised by (industry body) Scotland IS as a “most promising emerging business” in its annual awards. Unfortunately, there was tough competition that year and we didn’t win.
Today, it’s the Apprentice Store; I help young people, they help the IT sector and I benefit from all that the young apprentices teach me – everyone wins.
If you were in power in government, what would you change?
Education. The whole framework for employer engagement and the number of overlapping programmes running across Scotland is wasting a lot of public and private sector resource.
What do you still hope to achieve?
To expand the Apprentice Store across Scotland, delivering services to young people in their own communities so that their skills can be developed and retained locally.
What do you do to relax?
Play squash. I went back to the game at the age of 36 after a 20-year break, and love the physical and mental challenges. I play on the Scottish masters circuit and hope one day to put on a Scotland shirt.
What are you currently reading, listening to or glued to on the TV?
If you are not learning in the IT sector, you are going backwards so I only read for information.
I have a habit of binge-watching, so thank heaven for shows like Black Sails, Turn, Vikings, Game of Thrones and Dark Matter.
What do you waste your money on?
Waste money? Never.
How would your friends describe you?
Busy and a techie.
What would your enemies say about you?
That I do not know what I’m talking about.
What do you drive and dream of driving?
I love Irene’s Renault Zoe. Being fully electric, it has great acceleration. Our other car is a Mazda CX5. My dream car was an Aston Martin DB9, but when I got the chance to drive one I hated it and my dream died.