Star Refrigeration supports Scottish Apprenticeship Week

Scottish Apprenticeship Week celebrates the benefits apprenticeships bring to businesses, individuals and the economy. The campaign runs from 2-6 March 2020

A veteran of developing the workforce with 50 years’ experience of apprenticeships, Star Refrigeration is celebrating the benefits young talent brings to businesses this week for Scottish Apprenticeship week.

The campaign dubbed “Talent Without Limits” encourages business and individuals to get involved in activities and events that take place up and down the country.

Star’s commitment to ‘Developing Young People’ ensures the company is able to secure a better future by using the best people, systems and technology to deliver quality temperature solutions – and a dedicated training resource plays a huge part on it.

Star Refrigeration’s Training Manager, Dave Bartlett said: “Star was involved in National Apprenticeship Week and now in Scottish Apprenticeship Week to celebrate the success of apprenticeships whilst encouraging even more people to choose apprenticeships as a pathway to a great career. We are setting the bar as one of the most highly sought-after apprenticeships in the industry. And this is why over 9 percent of our workforce are currently serving apprenticeships and 23 percent of our management team originates from Star apprenticeships.”

Since starting in 1973, Star’s Apprenticeship Scheme has offered young people the opportunity to learn and develop their skills in a real working environment while earning a salary. Training in the skills the business needs has provided Star's apprentices with excellent progression opportunities, increased earning potential and professional recognition. Award-winning engineers Gavin Kidd, Sam Gills, Tom Woolston or Chris Druce are just some examples of Star's highly successful apprentices.

Projects Trainee, Craig McIntosh, said of his time as an apprentice with Star: "I have been working at Star for over 3 years and feel I am a valued member of the team. The most enjoyable thing about working at Star is that there is always someone happy to spend time with you and help you, whether that be with a work problem or university coursework.”

Brian Greig, a senior refrigeration engineer at Star, has also developed his skills and knowledge of the industrial refrigeration sector by choosing to do an engineering apprenticeship. After finishing his apprenticeship in mechanical fitting and welding at Star's manufacturing facility in Glasgow, Brian Greig decided to retrain as an industrial refrigeration engineer. He then transferred to the service and maintenance side of the business where he has been working for the last fourteen years. As an operations engineer, Brian now services some of the systems he helped build.

Brian said: “Moving to the service side of the business has also helped me develop personally. I was very quiet and lacked self-confidence…I have now become a much more confident and self-assured person”.

Star Refrigeration Apprenticeship Scheme offers excellent on the job training in the fast-moving world of industrial refrigeration engineering and a sector leading training programme which is producing so many award winning engineers. The company is recognised as one of the top "100 Best Companies to work for" by The Sunday Times and has been awarded Investors in Young People Gold accreditation.