This week Colleges Scotland is celebrating Scottish Apprenticeship Week - there’s more details on all the activity taking place on the SDS Apprenticeships website.  We are highlighting the achievements of college apprentices such as Brandon Kinvig, UHI Inverness:

 Name: Brandon Kinvig

Age: 23 years old

Course: Modern Apprenticeship in Engineering

Stage you are at on your course?

2nd year

What made you want to start an apprenticeship?

I left school with a job as a way to earn money in my early years of adulthood, after a number of years I felt I was not progressing and I had peaked with what I could learn.

It was for this reason I decided to look into a new career path with loads of progression and learning opportunities, which led me to a mechanical apprenticeship with Boiler and Valve Engineering as I had always been interested in doing hands on work and here they are able to offer endless amounts of training and I am able to enhance my skills to the next level and build myself a career.

What has the experience been like for you? Has there been anything that has surprised you? What has been the high point, or a highlight, or an experience you’ve had that you’ve enjoyed?

So far I have thoroughly enjoyed my apprenticeship because I'm now enjoying my day-to-day work as well as learning new things I wouldn't have been able to understand before out-with the engineering environment. One of the biggest highlights of my apprenticeship so far was completing my year 1 at UHI Inverness. I feel this was a big highlight for me as I felt this was me completing my first step into becoming an engineer.

Are there some key skills that you could tell us about that you have learned?

I have learnt many new skills since my first day of my apprenticeship, one major skill I feel I have learned is the ability to communicate in an engineering environment, being able to talk confidently and clearly, I am also now a lot more confident in my work on site as I feel I have learned the necessary skills to be able to diagnose and resolve faults when I’m needing to think on my feet.

Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years time, and how will the apprenticeship experience have helped you get there?

In 5 or 10 years I see myself as a qualified engineer with years of experience and knowledge under my belt thanks to my apprenticeship with Boiler and Valve Engineering with a great career ahead in the industrial engineering sector.