A north-east MSP has visited an engineering company to celebrate the work of its young apprentices.
Peter Chapman visited Bill Mackie Engineering in Peterhead as part of Scottish Apprenticeships Week.
He was given the opportunity to speak to some of the apprentices at the firm and said he was “impressed with the work that they do.”
Mr Chapman believes “the opportunities from learning a trade are huge.
He said: “We need people with all kinds of skills and often there’s a focus for school leavers to go to university.
“However, that isn’t for everyone and I think it’s important that young people can consider if this is something they might be interested in.”
“I was really impressed by the way they were respected and valued by the management. The three guys I spoke to were busy in the workshop and they seemed really happy doing the work that they do.”
The family-run business has four marine apprentices as well as one admin apprentice.
Works manager at Bill Mackie Engineering, Graeme Mackie, was once an apprentice himself and believes it has many benefits for young people.
He said: “It was great to have a visit from Peter Chapman and he seemed impressed by the work of our apprentices. It’s really good to have the work we do recognised.”
“With apprenticeships, you get the best of both worlds, there’s a hands-on element as well as an academic one too.”
This year, Scottish Apprenticeships Week took place on March 2-6 with a variety of activities marking this nationwide.