Salmon farm belonging to Scottish Sea Farms, in Scotland. (Photo: Scottish Sea Farms)

Scottish Sea Farms awarded for promoting training in rural jobs

UNITED KINGDOM
Friday, August 17, 2018, 03:10 (GMT + 9)

Salmon farmer Scottish Sea Farms has been awarded the Investors in People (IIP) Platinum accreditation for its sustained investment in jobs and skills within remote and rural communities.

In addition, the company has retained its Investors in Young People Good Practice Award at Gold level and has been accredited with the IIP Health and Wellbeing Good Practice Award.

Further awards granted in the first half of this year include the Aquaculture Learner of the Year, Finfish Farm Manager of the Year and Rising Star.

“Your principles, which are your values, run very deep and I was struck by how everyone I interviewed talked about the principles being so important to them, how they live by these values and that they are at the heart of everything they do in their daily work,” pointed out the IIP Assessor in the IIP Full Review.

Representatives of the firm point out that a key driver behind the company’s investment has been to help the remote communities in which it farms retain their younger generations and encourage those that have left to study or work to return home.

To this end, Scottish Sea Farms has increased its investment in Modern Apprenticeships, with 46 apprentices currently undertaking these skills-based qualifications.

In addition, the firm has helped shape a new degree-level of Modern Apprenticeship, Level 4, in partnership with skills bodies SQA and LANTRA and has introduced a new company graduate programme which has since been rolled out across the sector with the help of the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).

Furthermore, it has developed a bespoke course, in partnership with SAIC and Fife College, for first-time managers, helping them make the transition from farm team to farm manager successfully.

The company has also introduced a Staff Learning Journey for every employee, mapping out a clear path of career progression, and revised the way it recognises and rewards its people paying an average salary above that for both Scotland and the UK.

“The vast majority of our 440-strong team live in the same communities as they work, over 200 of whom are between 17-28 years of age, so we know first-hand how important it is that skilled jobs and opportunities for career progression exist. By investing across these complementary areas, we’re helping to retain locals, encourage those who have previously left to return, and also attract new faces into these remote rural areas,” highlighted Scottish Sea Farms’ Head of Human Resources, Tracy Bryant-Shaw.

Local training providers such as the NAFC Marine Centre on Shetland and Orkney, Fife and Inverness Colleges have also felt the benefits of the company’s investment, thanks to Scottish Sea Farms’ commitment to train locally wherever possible.

“Scottish Sea Farms work hard to ensure their staff are qualified in their area of expertise to recognised national industry standards, with more than double the number of employees currently undergoing Modern Apprenticeships than anyone else in the sector,” concluded Stuart Fitzsimmons, Section Leader for Aquaculture at the NAFC Marine Centre.

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