Forth Valley College and Celtic Renewables have released the third and final film in their ‘Growing Scotland’s Green Workforce’ series, following the first year of four Modern Apprentices as they begin their careers within Scotland’s low-carbon economy.
The new film showcases the final few weeks of the four apprentices’ full-time year at Forth Valley College before they return to the refinery site of their employer to begin the second year of their four-year apprenticeship. During Year 2, they will be based mainly at Celtic Renewables’ Grangemouth site, with occasional college attendance as required for their studies.
To view the final film, visit: https://bit.ly/44FlLMw
The three-part series has tracked the apprentices' journey since August 2025, highlighting the value of collaboration between industry and education in developing the skills needed to support Scotland's Just Transition to a net-zero future.
The apprentices involved include Matthew Hampson, Process Apprentice; Aiden Reid, Process Apprentice; Rory MacDonald, Multi-skilled Apprentice; and Lewis McNab, Electrical Engineering Apprentice.
The series, produced and edited by local filmmaker Michael Rea, has demonstrated how apprenticeship programmes developed through collaboration between education and industry can contribute to the Just Transition, particularly as Grangemouth looks towards a future in low-carbon manufacturing.
Throughout the programme, each of the four students has been gaining experience as either an apprentice Electrical Engineer, Process Operator or Mechanical Engineer, while studying for their Scottish Vocational Qualification at Forth Valley College.
This was the first year that Celtic Renewables participated in a Modern Apprenticeship scheme. The company aims to expand its participation and take on more apprentices in the coming years as it scales up its operations producing green chemicals using waste and by-products from the food, drink and agricultural industries.
There are currently over 25,000 apprentices across Scotland, with close to two-thirds (63.9 per cent) training in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) fields.
This uptake is a result of the £100 million investment from the Scottish Government to encourage school leavers into apprenticeships, with the aim of creating a new generation of qualified workers for Scotland’s burgeoning green economy.
Kerry Johnson, Chief People Officer at Celtic Renewables, said:
"This series of films is an excellent project, highlighting the work both Celtic Renewables and Forth Valley College are doing to support Scotland’s low-carbon future. It has been fantastic to see the apprentices progress over their first year, and they’re settling in well at our biorefinery in Grangemouth. Previously, these apprenticeship roles would have gone to the oil and gas industry, so it’s real progress that we are contributing to the green skills transition."
Kenny MacInnes, Principal of Forth Valley College, added:
"Following the progress of Aiden, Rory, Lewis and Matthew in this series of three films has been enlightening, inspiring and educational.
“You can see the growth in confidence and personal development experienced by all four Modern Apprentices, and we thank them and our partner employer, Celtic Renewables, for allowing us to share their journey over the past academic year.
“It has been a pleasure to get a front-row seat to the apprenticeship process, and we are sure the films will encourage the next generation of renewables engineering professionals."
For more information on FVC Apprenticeships visit https://www.forthvalley.ac.uk/apprenticeships and for more information on Celtic renewables visit https://www.celtic-renewables.com/
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