The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Expanding skills on the job
New roles: Apprentices get fresh training opportunity at their workplace
Three new apprentices at a Dyce firm are relishing being given the chance to pick up new skills.
Jo Donald, Scott Ingram and James Beadles have all recently started apprenticeships with HTL Group.
The three were all already employees with HTL when business manager Marc Gerrard offered them the chance to take up the 18-month training programme.
Miss Donald joined HTL as a driver, but is now an operations co-ordinator.
Her apprenticeship is in business and administration and her standard day consists of ensuring paperwork gets sent to the company’s office, making sure the store and workshop area is kept in good order and dealing with contractors on site.
Mr Ingram, a logistics apprentice, supplies torquing equipment to the offshore and on-site industries.
Mr Beadles, who is also a logistics apprentice, takes quotes from customers, makes sure equipment gets from HTL to customers and vice versa.
Miss Donald is enjoying her apprenticeship and sees it as is a great chance to progress her career. The 21year-old said: “I’m really enjoying it and have been doing it for a few weeks now – it’s great.
“I would recommend an apprenticeship to others because it is a great opportunity.
“The learning on the job style suits me and I have a workplace mentor as well which is good.”
Mr Ingram, 37, said: “Anything that can help me with my job is beneficial for me.
“The learning on the job style of the course is pretty accurate with what I do in my job in terms of the systems I’m working with and I think by the end of the course it will benefit me.”
Mr Beadles, 31, added: “The apprenticeship seemed a good option because I’m always looking to improve my skills.”
All three apprenticeships are 18 months long and ITCA Training are providing the competence assessment framework.
On the trio, Mr Gerrard said: “They are really impressive people.
“I think that them doing this course to underpin their existing knowledge will provide the platform for them to build and grow within the business.” “even worse” than previous proposals.
Scottish ministers provoked fury last year by confirming they would axe HIE’s board and replace it with a panel overseeing all of Scotland’s enterprise and skills agencies.
Critics claimed it would undermine 50 years of progress in the north, and the Press and Journal’s Keep HIE Local campaign was backed by all opposition parties, Highland Council, trade unions and SCDI, as well as former chairmen and chief executives of the agency.
Economy Secretary Keith Brown said last night that the government would outline its next steps to parliament in the next few weeks.