A blog post by S6 Glenrothes High School pupil, Maksims Danilaus, reflecting on his work experience placement with Jenny Gilruth MSP and her constituency team from 6-8 March 2024.
“Within these three days of the work placement in Jenny Gilruth’ s constituency office, I havelearned so much about the work which Jenny and her team carry out on a day-to-day basis.
Not only did I have the opportunity to see how the team deal with their casework and in general support constituents, but I also got to see how the team worked within the Scottish Parliament and how they arrange and conduct Jenny’s surgeries.
My most memorable experience was getting to go through to the Parliament with the constituency team. There I gained the important experience of seeing how the team operate in Parliament, and also got to see different MSPs debating certain topics. I found that attending First Minister’s Questions particularly valuable, as it truly showed me how MSPs scrutinise and hold the Government to account. I found it very interesting to see how emotional members of the parliament could get, one case of this was being able to see the Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross get into a heated confrontation with Scotland’s First Minister. Although I found this unprofessional in a debating chamber, I was still very impressed on how members of the parliament deal with questions and the evidence which they use to provide a good response.
During my time in the parliament, one of the biggest things I had learned is how many people are involved within the Scottish parliament. From the desk staff, to the civil servants this placement managed to truly open my eyes on how possible it is to pursue a career in this field in a range of sectors.
In addition to my trip to Parliament, the team encouraged me to assist with day to day work they do in the office. I found this extremely important to broaden my knowledge of how to complete these tasks successfully and accurately. I had also found that by giving me independence and allowing me to do tasks at my own pace I managed to learn a lot more than I would have if I had been pressured.
This placement hasn’t only opened my eyes to issues surrounding the topic of Scottish politics, but it has also inspired me to pursue a career within this field. I would like to give a massive thank you to Jenny Gilruth MSP and her constituency team for making this experience possible – it has truly changed my perspective on the field of Scottish politics.”
