A group of TechnipFMC Modern Apprentices – who were part of Forth Valley College’s largest ever intake of female engineering MAs in 2018 and the focus of the 2019 Scottish Apprenticeship Week – have served their time and have now taken up full-time roles at the respected firm’s Dunfermline operation.
The landmark in their career is an ideal celebration for Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2023 and also International Women’s Day which falls today on Wednesday 8 March.
The photo shows (from left to right) Sophie Benton, a Computer Aided Design (CAD) Apprentice, Rachael Snedden, a Technical Business Apprentice, Sophie Green, a CAD Apprentice, Isla Noon and Lauren Sanders, both Technical Business Apprentices. Sophie will finish her apprenticeship later in 2023, while the others have recently completed their apprenticeships and been taken on full-time jobs with TechnipFMC. Two other female MAs, who started at the same time, have now left the business.
The company is a global leader in the traditional and renewable energy industry, delivering innovative technologies, systems, and services to meet the world’s energy needs now and in the future.
The group were front and centre (see carousel photo) during a visit to the FVC Falkirk Campus on the first day of Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2019 by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The politician chose the College, one of Scotland’s leading trainers of Modern and Foundation Apprentices, to launch a new network initiative by the new Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Apprenticeship Network, which aimed to have an apprenticeship ambassador within every high school in Scotland by Scottish Apprenticeship Week 2020.
Lorraine Kerr, FVC Apprenticeship Officer, said: “I am very proud of the achievements of our fabulous women in engineering. Each and every one of them have worked so very hard to achieve what they have, particularly through the Covid pandemic happening early on in their apprenticeships. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them all throughout their journey and love to catch up with them when I visit TechnipFMC’s current modern apprentices.”
Gavin Kennedy, Engineering Development Manager at TechnipFMC, commented: “As a site, we have been impressed by the dedication, commitment and resilience these women have shown over the four years of their MA. They have already been involved in some key business activities. I’m sure we will continue to reap the benefits of their skills and contribution in the years ahead as well as increasing the diversity of our workforce, with all the advantages this brings.”
Back in 2018, FVC welcomed a total of 19 women MAs – covering areas such as welding and fabrication, instrumentation, power distribution and mechanical engineering – all beginning their apprenticeships at the FVC Falkirk Campus.
They spent their first year at the College while being employed by various companies such as TechnipFMC, Petrofac, Scotrail, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Aker Solutions, WorleyParsons, Ineos and PetroIneos, Dupont and Scottish Power.
Also in that year, TechnipFMC even recorded parity in the new start MA group with eight women MAs and eight men beginning their journey at the same time.
ECITB, the statutory skills body for the engineering construction industry which sponsors the training of MAs at FVC on behalf of various partner companies, also saw their largest ever enrolment of first year women MAs at that time, with four starting on their Oil and Gas Technical Apprentice Programme (OGTAP).
At the moment firms such as Alexander Dennis, Syngenta, Edinburgh Airport and Bo’ness Railway are actively recruiting for Engineering MAs, so anyone interested in finding out more about the FVC Modern Apprenticeship programme should visit https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/ways-to-study/apprenticeships/modern-apprenticeships/
