College student Fergus Stewart from Falkirk is top of the class after winning a coveted oil and gas industry award from OPITO.
Fergus, 18, from Bonnybridge, has been named the 2011 Apprentice of the Year by the Aberdeen-headquartered oil and gas industry body.
The award acknowledges outstanding ability and attitude during the college phase of the national apprenticeship scheme.
Fergus is currently training to become an instrument technician through full-time study at Jewel & Esk College in Edinburgh, one of four industry-appointed colleges in the UK.
“I was attracted to the oil and gas industry because I felt that is was an area of interest to myself and where, if you work hard, the benefits are there to progress up the career ladder and the rewards are limitless,” said Fergus.
“My ultimate aim is to become an offshore installation manager and be in charge of a platform. I believe the practical skills that I am learning currently will benefit myself and help achieve this aim.”
Fergus started on the scheme in September 2010. On completion of the 21 months college-based phase of the programme, he will be placed with an oil and gas company where he will gain a further two years on-the-job training.
The national apprenticeship scheme has brought more than 1,100 young people into the oil and gas sector in the last decade, creating a grassroots solution to the industry-wide skills shortage.
Operators and major contractors have invested more than £70million into the modern apprenticeship scheme, making it one of the most relevant in terms of equipping the next generation of workers with the range of skills and experience employers need.
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