AN award-winning roofing apprentice has marked Scottish Apprenticeship Week by describing how his course has helped build work-ready skills and boosted his confidence.
Euan Forsyth, from Glenrothes, was named BMI Redland Roofing Apprentice of the Year last summer. He is currently carrying out his apprenticeship at Fife College’s Glenrothes Campus while learning on the job with Kirkcaldy-based employer Mithril Roofing and Building.
Euan said, “I started off working as a joiner labourer and then I ended up falling into roofing. My boss told me if I did that for a year he would then put me through my apprenticeship. We’ve been in college for a fortnight, every fortnight, so we’ve got a different unit every time we go in. It’s always changing, picking up loads of skills every time.”
Winning his Apprentice of the Year award last year provided Euan with an extra boost. Putting his skills to the test over two days, he beat off competition from 20 fellow apprentices from across the UK to win the accolade, which also came with a £1,000 cash prize and access to three years’ training through the BMI Academy.
“I was a bit surreal, to be honest,” Euan added. “I wasn’t expecting it. I felt like I’d done well in the competition but I didn’t expect to win it. I learned a lot from it too. I was always quite a shy person. After coming back up, I was a lot more confident in speaking to customers and being in college.
“When I came in here, being an adult, I picked things up a lot easier. So, a lot of the things I was quite good at, but it’s just excelled me that we bit extra to be a lot more confident in doing things myself on the site. I have definitely built up a lot of confidence and a lot of skills.”
Euan’s lecturer, Brain Hutton, commented, “We were very proud of what Euan achieved for himself, for us as a college and for the Fife region. Euan is a very good student and one of the best we’ve had over the last few years. Nothing is too much trouble; he always thinks ahead and I think that’s what shone through for his award last year.”
