Mark powers on with world of experience
The celebrations of Scottish Apprenticeship Week culminate on Friday, when talented young people will be vying for the crown of Scottish Apprentice of theyear. Here, we meet some of the finalists whose outstanding achievements are demonstrating to Scotland’s young people the enormous rewards that can be reaped through learning as you’re earning.
A Graduate Apprenticeship has unveiled a whole new world for young Scots engineer Mark Diamond – and it’s even taken him down under to Australia to help power international sporting events.
Now, a boss at a global energy firm for which he works has hailed graduate apprentices like talented Mark as a way of tapping into innovative thinking and futureproofing the shape of tomorrow’s most progressive businesses.
Growing up near energy solutions business Aggreko’s manufacturing plant in Dumbarton inspired Mark to apply for a Graduate Apprenticeship in Engineering: Design and
Manufacture with the firm.
Now in his final year, the 21-year-old has worked in many different areas of the business, enabling him to hone his skills and knowledge.
Mark was part of the Aggreko events team to successfully design and deliver the temporary power for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
His biggest achievement to date, however, is the role he played in the successful delivery of the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia.
He worked unaided at different sites in four cities, installing Aggreko’s remote monitoring machinery and integrating it with FIFA’S monitoring equipment for all 10 of the World Cup venues.
Mark is currently in the electrical engineering department for three-and-a-half days a week, and spends one day weekly studying at Glasgow Caledonian University.
He studied Highers in Maths, Physics, English, PE, Modern Studies and Computing Science at Dumbarton’s Our Lady and St Patrick’s High School, before applying for the Graduate Apprenticeship.
He said:“doing a Graduate Apprenticeship gives you the best of both worlds – you are constantly putting your learning into practice and gaining valuable experience.
“I have been able to absorb knowledge from more experienced colleagues, which has really helped me in my personal and professional development, and also boosted my confidence.
“Earning a salary at the same time as going to university to achieve my qualification really takes the pressure off.”
Aggreko manufacturing trainer and apprentice manager, Paul Mcgarry, said:“mark has been a breath of fresh air, keen to learn and kick on, and we’ve had cracking reports from everyone he’s worked
“Apprentices bring different ways of thinking and new ideas and allow us to grow our own talent, upskill our workforce and future-proof our business.”