CalMac apprentices celebrate a year of firsts
FERRY operator CalMac has teamed up with City of Glasgow College to bring all elements of its apprenticeship training to Scotland for the first time.
After a sustained drive by CalMac and close working with City of Glasgow College, this year’s intake of apprentices are the first to benefit from study closer to home.
Previously, the nearest college for specialist maritime elements was in South Shields on Tyneside.
In 2016/17, the company’s apprenticeships on offer rose from two to three with the addition of an MA in hospitality with maritime enhancements – the first course of its kind in the UK.
The other two courses are modern apprenticeships in deck and engineering.
Three of the company’s apprentices from Skye, the Western Isles and West Coast came together earlier this month as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week. Kathleen MacDonald, 21, hospitality trainee from Knock- intorran in North Uist; Jamie Humphreys, 17, deck trainee from Dunlop Street, Greenock; and Daniel MacIntyre, 18, engineering trainee, from Kilmaluag, Isle of Skye, chatted to guests about their experiences. Former engineering apprentice Megan MacDonald, 20, of Drimsdale, South Uist – now a motorman on MV Hebridean Isles – also offered an insight as someone who has completed her training.
‘It has been a real landmark year for our apprentices,’ said CalMac managing director Martin Dorchester. ‘I am extremely proud of the young people who have come up through our apprenticeship training. They are a genuinely strong addition to our teams across the network and have been welcomed by our crews.
‘Bringing the classroom element of the courses to Scotland for the first time has been a long-held goal of ours and I’m delighted the partnership with City of Glasgow College has brought this to fruition. The addition of our third apprenticeship and the development of the content for that course has also benefited from this close relationship.’