Aquaculture students win big at Lantra Awards

Shetland UHI Apprentices Triumph at ALBAs It was three for three for Shetland UHI Aquaculture apprentices last night at the Lantra ALBAs awards, with the three nominated finalists winning their respective categories.

Lantra Scotland is the sector skills council for land, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries, and their annual Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills (the ALBAs) are a highlight of the industry year.

The winners are:

Derek Ferguson, Overall Modern Apprentice Runner Up and Winner of the Higher Education SCQF Level 9+ Award. Derek works on a marine site for SSF Shetland.

Emmanuelle Rey, Winner of the Aquaculture category. Emmanuelle works at the Frandy Hatchery for Dawnfresh Farming Ltd.  Dawnfresh are the UKs largest rainbow trout producer.

Emily Underhill, Runner up of the Aquaculture category. Emily works for Scottish Sea Farms at the Barcaldine Hatchery in Oban.  Emily formerly worked in the hatchery at Girlsta.

Stuart Fitzsimmons, Head of Aquaculture at Shetland UHI, said “My congratulations to all three winners! We are very proud to have supported these three students and to have their hard work recognised in this way.  Also, a big thanks for all the aquaculture staff for ensuring the students completed their courses during the COVID lockdown”.

Shetland UHI supports the aquaculture industry by offering a wide range of courses designed to suit the range of industry standards and needs. With over 120 modern apprentices in Aquaculture this year alone, many of the courses offered by Shetland UHI are delivered around Scotland.