Ayrshire apprentices are engineering a new path
Two Ayrshire trainees have won top awards at a firm’s annual prize night.
Cameron Howie, from Mauchline, and Mathew Howie, from Maybole, were honoured at Lantra Scotland’s annual Land- based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards. Cameron, 18, won the Land- based Engineering category, while 21- year- old Mathew was runner- up. Cameron is studying a Modern Apprenticeship in Land- based Engineering through SRUC, while working for John H. McNae Ltd. His consistently strong performance earned him the BAGMA shield for being top student. He said: “Thank you Lantra Scotland for this great award. “It’s always nice to be recognised for your efforts and this gives me the confidence that I have made the right career choice. “I’d like to thank my employers at John H. McNae and tutors at Barony College for all their continued help and support.” Mathew has recently completed a Modern Apprenticeship in Land- based Engineering through SRUC, while working for James Walker. At the age of 15, he was faced with the choice of a football scholarship in America or a full- time engineering apprenticeship closer to home. The apprenticeship won and he has never looked back. The 2018 Learner of the Year Awards were organised by Lantra Scotland, the sector skills council for the land- based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries. Kevin Patrick, director of Lantra Scotland, said the awards play a vital role in celebrating achievements of trainees within Scotland’s rural sector. He said: “Our awards highlight the incredible people, the great work they do and the career opportunities within Scotland’s land- based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries. “We are also very grateful to have the support of a range of people and organisations who make holding an event like this possible.”