Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) apprentices have achieved significant success at the Lantra Scotland Awards for Land Based and Aquaculture skills, held during Scottish Apprenticeship Week. All four FLS apprentices nominated for awards were recognized.

Cromarty-based Modern Apprentice Craftsperson Stewart Smith achieved a hat trick, winning the overall award, the Modern Apprentice category, and the Trees and Timber learner of the year. Modern Wildlife Ranger Apprentice Murray Henderson, based at Newton Stewart, won the Game and Wildlife category and the Tam Tod Trophy for outstanding young countryside learner, while his colleague Fenna Whittaker was runner-up in the same category. Kirsty Gibson, a Modern Apprentice Craftsperson at Lochgilphead, was runner-up in the Trees and Timber category.

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All four apprentices combine practical on-the-job training with further education at college or university. FLS has 28 apprentices across Scotland in various roles, including mechanical and engineering services, civil engineering, wildlife ranging, and craftsperson positions.

Stewart Smith said: "It is pretty special to have won these awards. It was not something I was expecting. It really is a testament to the support and training we, as apprentices, get from FLS colleagues in our teams and regions and across the organisation. I feel lucky that I have been able to find and take on an opportunity like this that allows me to work outdoors and in nature and is providing me with a route into a rewarding career in forestry."

Additionally, FLS Stewardship Forester Marc Pickering from Lochgilphead won the Lantra Mentor of the Year Award.

Graeme Prest, Director of Land Management and Regions, said: "I want to congratulate our nominated apprentices on achieving these fantastic results. It is a testament to their hard work and dedication as well as the efforts of the staff guiding them through their apprenticeships. At FLS we are incredibly proud of all our apprentices who come from a wide variety of backgrounds and from across Scotland and even further afield. Many from rural areas allowing them to remain close to home. Modern Apprenticeships are a fantastic way to bring new blood into the forestry sector and equip people with life skills that they can take with them in future years. Our apprentices really enjoy the work they do and the opportunities that working with us opens up for them."