“School wasn’t for me, I found it hard to learn in the classroom and just wanted to be outside doing practical things, so I left but not really knowing what to do next.”
That’s where the Fife based Our Bright Future programme was able to help. The programme delivered a range of Modern Apprenticeships in Rural Skills, Horticulture and Trees and Timber from its Partner sites across Fife.
“I applied and was accepted onto the programme which I’ve really enjoyed, especially working with the chainsaws. I now have my NTPC chainsaw maintenance, crosscutting and felling (up to 380mm) ticket as well as aerial rescue and use of chainsaw up a tree, which lets me chainsaw on the ground and at height. My favourite bit is when you make a really nice cut and you hear the crack as the tree falls without snagging on anything on the way down! I’ve also surprised myself in that the paperwork side of the apprenticeship has been OK, they are definitely the way forward.”
Jack has done so well that he was nominated as a finalist in Lantra Scotland’s Land-based and Auqaculture Learner of the Year Awards in the Trees and Timber category, narrowly missing out as runner-up. The training and experience he has received has allowed him to enter into the rural sector as a skilled professional in his chosen field.
You can view a short video from Jack of his experience as a Modern Apprentice in Trees and Timber at Falkland Estate: