Engineering companies from throughout Fife are now much more aware of the benefits of employing an engineering Modern Apprentice (MA) thanks to a recent Breakfast event held at Fife College.

Guests were welcomed to the event, held at the College’s Carnegie Conference Centre in Dunfermline, by Nicky Inglis Director of Engineering and given information about the benefits of employing an apprentice.

John Hamill, Business Development Manager also spoke about employer contributions and explained the recent changes in funding which makes it more affordable to employ an apprentice, along with the support available from Fife College.

Guest speaker Julie McCluskey, who is an Early Careers Advisor from Babcock, outlined the positives from an employer’s perspective and gave an insight into the experiences of MAs and the positive partnership between Babcock and Fife College.

Those attending were also delighted to hear from Morna McMurray from SCORE (Europe) Ltd who has just completed a four year apprenticeship with the company alongside her training at Fife College which included an HNC in Mechanical Engineering.

Said Morna: “It was great to be invited along to speak and tell my side of the story. I really enjoy working at SCORE – the apprenticeship route has certainly paid off for me! I left school with more than enough qualifications to go to university however preferred to stay in Fife and get hands-on experience alongside skills and qualifications. It’s great to know that 75% of the board members at SCORE started as apprentices, so there’s plenty scope for progression. I love my job and know that the skills and qualifications I have will help me progress my career - I would recommend an MA to everyone!”

Nicky Inglis said: “We had a good turn out today and it was great to engage with employers, outline the benefits of MAs and talk about the challenges of Advanced Manufacturing and the part the right apprenticeships can play. Engineering technology is progressing at a fast rate and so ensuring businesses have the right people on board is vital. Our MA programme helps businesses to ensure they are keeping up-to-date with the latest engineering training and skills which meet the requirements of industry.”

To find out more, visit business.fife.ac.uk, call 0344 248 0132 or email sales@fife.ac.uk​