Simon Maclellan wins Aquaculture Learner of the Year Award 2013
Simon Maclellan, the 24 year old aquaculture trainee from Drumnadrochit, Inverness-Shire, has scooped up two major awards at Lantra Scotland’s prestigious Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards ceremony and gala dinner, which took place on Thursday March 6th at the Hilton Dunblane Hydro Hotel near Stirling.
Not only did he win the much coveted Aquaculture Learner of the Year Award 2013, sponsored by Marine Scotland, he was also one of four winners of this year’s Council of Award of Royal Agricultural Societies Award, sponsored by CARAS, a fantastic achievement for the young man.
Andrew Cunningham, aged 20 from Lochgilphead in Argyll, was awarded the Runner-Up Aquaculture Learner of the Year Award 2013.
Simon recently completed his SVQ Level 2 in Aquaculture at Inverness College UHI, and is currently working part-time with Marine Harvest Scotland to develop his skills and build up experience. The Modern Apprenticeship scheme is helping Simon develop all the practical knowledge and skills he’ll need for a successful career in aquaculture, including learning about fish health, salmon feeding behaviour, water chemistry and the different operations carried out every year on a fish farm from grading and vaccinating fish, to site maintenance and equipment use. Simon wants to continue his training and work towards his SVQ level 3 in Aquaculture as well as further training at Marine Harvest.
Simon was delighted to receive two awards commenting: “I am delighted to have won two LANTRA awards this year – I hope these awards and the training I have received so far will give me the start I need in my aquaculture career. The SVQ Level 2 in Aquaculture at Inverness College UHI has given me a solid foundation, helping me understand the conditions required to produce healthy salmon, and enabling me to develop all the practical and academic skills required for a successful career in the industry.
"The course has also given me the confidence to train new staff coming on to the site, and I now realise just how much is involved in the job, that I learn from experience. There is always something new to learn in this industry, it is constantly developing, which is all part of the challenge I plan on developing my skills in the future by completing the next level of the college course and completing all the training courses that the company provide.”
