MacTaggart Scott

Can you provide some background to MacTaggart Scott?

MacTaggart Scott employees 350-400 people. The company provides full product lifecycle support for mechanical handling equipment for the naval marine industry. MacTaggart Scott has in house design, manufacturing, test and in-service support capabilities.

What are the key reasons why the Graduate Apprenticeship model suits your specific business/industry?

Due to the range of activities that are undertaken by the company we can offer diverse experiences to Graduate Apprentices. Recently we have found it difficult to recruit experienced engineers (I believe this is typical across industry at the moment) and are finding it can be best to train young enthusiastic students through the Graduate Apprentice programme to meet the specific requirements of the business.

What appealed to you most about Heriot-Watt University as the GA provider?

MacTaggart Scott have had a very good working relationship with Heriot Watt prior to the Graduate Apprentice programme being released. We believe the calibre of the students from Heriot Watt to align with the needs of the company and the proximity to MacTaggart Scott is an added bonus – making the hybrid working and learning environment easier for the students.

In what way has the candidate made a contribution to the workplace / business?

Callum - Having only started to mentor Callum this year, I can only comment that he has successfully moved into the Project Management department where he is making an impact due to his engineering knowledge and understanding of MacTaggart Scott products.

Nick - Nick has added significant value within our R&D department and latterly the wider Engineering Design department. He has applied his knowledge to designing a composite winch drum which has the potential to significantly reduce the mass of one of our winch systems whilst meeting the other operational and environmental requirements.

How do you feel about the GAs’ futures?

Callum has a good future ahead of him with the potential to progress within the Project Management department.

Nick’s future is looking very good, his grounding in mathematics and know the mechanical engineering fundamentals puts him in a great position. MacTaggart Scott are currently supporting him through a Masters course to further his skills. Nick is proving a great addition to the team and I hope that he will continue his career with MacTaggart Scott.

Based on your experience of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme would you happily employ another Graduate Apprentice in the future?

Yes, due to the success we have had with Callum and Nick we will definitely consider future Graduate Apprentices. At the moment we have two Electrical Engineering based students going through the Graduate Apprenticeship programme amongst others across the business.

Please explain how you found the Graduate Apprenticeship opportunity and give some background to what you were doing before the opportunity came up?

I originally studied Economics then worked for Morgan Stanley. I was not enjoying that, so I decided to leave them and go to college to study Engineering. At that point I needed to have an income and searched for ways to study and work at the same time. I found out about graduate apprenticeships through a friend, which worked in engineering, so applied for several different programmes. I was successful at MacTaggart Scott.

What were the benefits of Graduate Apprenticeship programme that attracted you the most?

The main attraction for me was the ability to earn, gain experience and complete a degree at the same time.

Please describe what you are employed to do:

My current role is as a Developing Engineer.

My main tasks involve completing drawings, design work, calculations, finite element analysis, organise testing for products and contribute to reviews.

How did you find the challenge of combining work with studying towards a degree?

Generally, it worked well. Both the Uni and my workplace were understanding especially during the struggles of Covid. There were obviously busy periods with hand ins and work priorities colliding but I managed to overcome them successfully.

What was your proudest achievement as an apprentice and can you explain how this impacted on your working environment and or helped deliver results on behalf of your organisation?

I designed a test jig and test plan during covid, which I then project managed to completion. It had lots of setbacks but we managed to complete it to the eventual satisfaction of the client who I had to directly report to.

What are your future career hopes and goals on completion of the Graduate Apprenticeship?

Having completed the Graduate Apprentice Programme, I am currently studying for a Master’s degree whilst working and then plan to become a chartered engineer with IMeche.

I have studied both ways but in different subjects. I found that you gain a lot more work relevant knowledge through the graduate apprentice route which means you are further along the career progression.

Can you outline what support and/or encouragement your employer has given you in your GA journey?

My employer, through my line manager at the time and my workplace mentor, have been very accommodating to my studies. If I had any issues, they were keen to provide help or find someone within the business that could.

Please give a quote to sum up your overall experience of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme:

The graduate apprenticeship programme was a very accommodating process. Ultimately, I am in a position where the experience and qualifications I have, could not have been replicated with a full-time undergraduate degree.

What were the benefits of Graduate Apprenticeship programme that attracted you the most?

The main benefit for me was being able to gain a degree whilst working in full time employment.

Please describe what you are employed to do:

I started the apprenticeship within a Production Engineering role and now work within Project Management.

How have you found the challenge of combining work with studying towards a degree?

It has been challenging but certainly achievable.

What is your proudest achievement to date in your role and can you explain how this impacted on your working environment and or helped deliver results on behalf of your organisation?

My proudest achievement has been carrying out all shop floor support, process plan creation, manufacturing routings and continuous improvement alone for 3 years within Production Engineering on all manufacturing contracts with the exception of one.

What are your future career hopes and goals on completion of the Graduate Apprenticeship?

I hope to use this degree to gain access to completing a master’s degree in a related field. I would have been unable to gain this degree without the Graduate Apprenticeship as I was able to earn while I was learning

Can you outline what support and/or encouragement your employer has given you in your GA journey?

The main ones are the time required to complete pieces of work which are required in the workplace. Also the time off to complete the classes for the degree.

Please give a quote to sum up your overall experience of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme:

I have found the experience enjoyable and the work challenging. I feel the way the course has been set up ensures you learn more within the industrial sector.

Steve Fortune, Training and Development lead at Raytheon UK

Can you provide some background to Raytheon?

▪ Raytheon UK employs 2,000 people.
▪ Multiple Major Sites across the UK including 2 in Scotland (Glenrothes and Livingston).
▪ A prime contractor and major supplier to the U.K. Ministry of Defence and other Government departments.
▪ Provides solutions in areas including airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, cyber, training solutions and space.

What are the key reasons why the Graduate Apprenticeship model suits your specific business/industry?

The graduate apprenticeships are used by Raytheon UK to attract the best new talent and encourage existing employees to work on their career development and progression. It helps the company to fill the talent pipeline with the skills we require and train our apprentices in the specific areas relevant to our business.

What appealed to you most about Heriot-Watt University as the GA provider?

• The courses offered
• The relationship and communication with their employers
• Location
• Track record

In what way has the candidate made a contribution to the workplace / business?

Sam has made a really positive impact during his time as a graduate apprentice. Initially his enthusiasm and work ethic were really refreshing and useful to the team. Latterly his technical capabilities and interpersonal skills have meant he has been able to take on key roles within the process engineering team, in cross functional projects and most recently as our STEM Site Lead.

How do you feel about Sam’s future?

Sam has a very bright future which we hope to continue to help him grow and develop. Sam has now achieved his first class honours through the GA programme and is now on Raytheon UK’s Graduate Development Programme which will target leadership skills and further progression within the department.

Based on your experience of the Graduate Apprenticeship programme would you happily employ another Graduate Apprentice in the future?

Yes, this programme is proving to be highly sought after, which allows us to attract exciting new talent and encourages our existing employees to look at their career development in order to apply for this programme.
The company aims to grow significantly in the next few years we will continue to require new talent to join the company and help us with our exciting new products and business areas.