Staff old and new
You can always judge a workplace by the length of time many of its employees have been there.
And at Glasgow Prestwick Airport, it’s not unusual to find members of staff with over a decade’s service.
They have a one per cent staff turnover rate, while 41 per cent of the total employees have more than 10 years’ service - and 11 per cent have more than 22 years’ service.
No matter which department you go to, there’s people there who have had many years of service, because they love working at the airport.
Many of the staff have had the opportunity to work in different roles in their time with the airport - such as Kate Kilgour, the Security Operations Manager, who has been at the airport for 21 years.
She said: “It’s hard to believe I’ve been here so long - where does the time go?
“I started at check in, then moved on to become a check in supervisor, then I went to aircraft dispatch as a duty manager, and then started promoting all services from Prestwick in the travel agencies.
“Iused to go around various places, encouraging people to come and fly from Prestwick!
“I’ve been working in security since March 1. I’m co- ordinating the team members.
“I deal with the police and UK Border Agency and other multiagencies, and work on other normal operational matters.”
Glasgow Prestwick Airport is also keen to create opportunities to provide work experience for people across Ayrshire and to welcome fresh talent to its team.
The most recent recruit to the staff is Calum Rabone, an intern who graduated in broadcast production at the University of the West of Scotland in Ayr.
He has joined the team at Glasgow Prestwick on a four month internship to produce new promotional videos for the airport.
The 22- year- old said: “I never expected to be working here - it’s quite different from what I thought I might do , but it’s an exciting opportunity.
“People who know where I work think it’s really interesting, and they’re right - earlier today, I was out on the air side, filming a cargo plane being unloaded with all of Beyonce Knowles’ staging.
“Today, I’ve been doing storyboards and scheduling for future films I’ll be doing for the airport.
“The most exciting one is the Visit Ayrshire one.
“I’ll be doing about 15 films in total, looking at all areas of the airport for the purpose of social media, exhibitions, and so on.”
Calum’s recruitment is a novel one and demonstrates that the airport is being modern and innovative in the way it operates its business and markets itself.
He said: “It’s great to be a part of things here, and if I can do anything to assist in promoting Glasgow Prestwick, to airlines, passengers and other potential customers, then great.”
Kate adds: “Glasgow Prestwick is a great place to work - things are definitely on the up. This year, there’s been a lot of positive changes. I get the sence that everyone is feeling much happier about the future.
“I love it - I really do love my job. There’s such a good buzz around the airport, and I can’t think of any other job that would be so diverse.