A former petrol pump designer has scooped Opito’s Apprentice of the Year Award at the age of 33.
Gavin Brown, who is in his second year of offshore training in instrumentation and control maintenance with North Sea operator Taqa, won a place on the Oil and Gas Technical Apprentice Programme (OGTAP) from a field of 1500 applicants
Mr Brown said he now sees a “long term future” for himself in Scotland’s oil and gas industry and described the 2019 accolade as “a great honour”.
He added: “Going to an office and sitting behind a computer wasn’t the lifestyle I wanted and I found the oil and gas industry appealing.
“Initially I thought I might be too old for an apprenticeship, but then saw others my age, and even older, successfully pave the way.”
Judging the categories this year were Kevin Nicolson, Opito, Claire Lawrie, Ithaca Energy and Jim Ritchie, Skills Development Scotland.
Opito chief executive John McDonald, called the choice of Mr Brown a “challenging decision” for the panel due to the “extremely high calibre of all four finalists”.
He added: “Each of the nominees demonstrated ambition, determination, self-motivation and a willingness to work hard to reach the top of their professions.
“The ability to work in a team, as well as lead from within, also shone through in each finalist.”