Case Studies

'Skills for Work' Programme

The 'Skills for Work' programme is a new national course developed by SQA offered at the NAFC Marine Centre.  It gives school children (in secondary 3 or above) the opportunity to come to the Centre one day per week over the course of a year to undertake workshop-based engineering activities.

There are four modules offered:

• Engineering Skills - Mechanical
• Engineering Skills - Electrical and Electronic
• Engineering Skills - Fabrication
• Enginnering Skills - Manufacture and Assembly 

Engineering lecturer at NAFC Marine Centre, Kenny Leask, speaks highly of the initiative.  He said: "This is a very interesting development for the Centre, allowing us to introduce students from all over Shetland into the colleage while they are still at school.

"At the end of the programme we hope to have provided students with employability skills that can set them off on the right foot for the future."

James Laurenson, Euan Smith and Billy McDermott have all completed the training programme and are now employed as Modern Apprentices in Shetland.

James Laurenson has always liked working with engines and finds the subject fascinating.  He thought that the Skills for Work initiative would be a worthwhile programme to complete.  He said:  "The course was all practical work and I felt that I was really achieving something.  When I finished the programme, I applied to several companies looking for a maintenance engineer placement and I'm now employed by L&M Engineering as a Modern Apprentice.

"To anyone thinking to put their name forward for the programme, I'd say go for it!  You learn alot and it's very rewarding.  The fact that I've completed the Skills for Work programme certainly helped as a reference when I was applying for jobs."

Euan Smith added: "I put my name down for the course as I recognised that achieving a qualification in engineering would help me to gain an apprenticeship.  I particularly enjoyed the practical hands-on experience and working with different engines.

"When it came to applying for jobs, the fact that I'd completed the course was a valuable addition to my CV.  I'm now working as a Modern Apprentice at Ocean Kinetics and would recommend the 'Skills for Work' programme to anyone interested in engineering."

Billy McDermott had always wanted to be an engineer and also appreciated the value of undertaking the programme - particularly when it came to job interviews.  Now employed by Lerwick Power Station, he said: "Being able to attend the NAFC for one day a week gave me so much valuable practical experience."