FROM MASTERS TO MANAGERS

Dawnfresh employs 70 staff in farming out of a total of 450-500, many of whom work in the company’s processing facilities in Uddingston in Lanarkshire. Stewart Hawthorn is particularly proud of the company’s graduate programme, which has been running for about three years. Candidates are selected from stiff competition and spend 18 months on the scheme. Stephanie Horn, one of two youngsters just completing the programme, joined after finishing her masters degree at the Institute of Aquaculture at Stirling University. She has worked in everything, from the hatchery in Stirling to the freshwater site at Loch Earn, and most recently in Etive, with area manager Greig MacPhail. As well as leaning all aspects of farming, she has taken on specific projects, ‘to better the business’ she said, including one looking at feed management. Now she has found a full-time job at the Scottish Salmon Company. ‘It’s been a really good stepping stone and great to get shown the ropes in every aspect of the business,’ she said. Hawthorn thinks the scheme, which is now recruiting its next two graduates from a list of applications, is fantastic. ‘It’s important to have a balance between the existing staff, with their experience, and graduates. ‘Stephanie is staying in the industry and hopefully she’ll come back to us one day, especially as this is the best place to deal with sea lice!’ Other graduates have remained at the company - one vet came straight from Stirling and one person from the scheme is now an assistant manager in Dawnfresh.