Wednesday 3 November 2010

Salmond hails renewable apprenticeship

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond has hailed the launch of the UK's first Modern Apprenticeship for the renewables industry as "an exciting first".

Mr Salmond was the RenewableUK 2010 in Glasgow where the scheme was officially unveiled yesterday. He met the 15 trainees who have started the course at Fife's Carnegie College, including 18-year-old Lewis Hamilton from Dunfermline, who said: "It was great to be selected for this new course. I always wanted to get into engineering and now I have one of the best opportunities for training. I am looking forward to getting out on site and putting some of the theory we are learning into action."

Mr Salmond said: "The Wind Turbine Technician Modern Apprenticeship is an exciting first for Scotland and the UK. I congratulate those embarking on this pioneering apprenticeship scheme at Carnegie College and thank the employers and partners who helped deliver it. These apprentices will play a key role in forging a new green economy in Scotland."

RenewableUK chief executive, Maria McCaffery said: "This is a truly significant step for the industry and I would like to congratulate the tenacious efforts of all those involved.

"Over the next decade the UK expects to see the contribution to electricity from wind to increase to around 30% from the 5% it stands at today. With a twelve-fold increase in the number of employees needed to fuel this growth, training initiatives such as the apprenticeship are absolutely crucial. The industry and its partners in education and skills should be extremely proud of what has been achieved here and we look forward to seeing more colleges and employers across the country taking up the scheme."