Viridis and Forth Valley College committed to kickstarting engineering careers

We’re delighted to have further strengthened our relationship with Forth Valley College and our commitment to apprenticeships with the appointment of Alicia Barrett.

Based in the Falkirk office, Alicia is the second apprentice we taken on from Forth Valley College, with Cameron Graham joining our growing team in 2019. We committed to training and educating the next generation of net-zero design engineers to create a greener, more sustainable future and help bridge the skills gap. 

Alicia - having always had a passion for science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) subjects - completed a pre-apprenticeship engineering course at Forth Valley College, which earned her a Higher National Certificate (HNC) prior to joining Viridis.

Alicia said: “I first became interested in pursuing a career in engineering after one of my teachers suggested that I look into apprenticeships. Personally, I like the fact that the various engineering disciplines strive to make the world a better place – whether that be building more sustainably or finding new and innovative ways to do things. I was immediately attracted to Viridis when I found out about the company’s commitment to discovering green solutions that can be implemented to create a more environmentally-friendly future.”

Cameron initially started his Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) in Building Services Engineering course in 2019 and is now finishing his degree part-time alongside his role as a junior design engineer here at Viridis.

He said: “For anyone at the start of their engineering career, I would strongly recommend the part time studying route. It can sometimes be challenging to juggle working and studying, but in the long run it offers you the best of both worlds and will provide a more rounded approach to your career. I really enjoy the variety of my day-to-day role at Viridis and it’s great to be able to learn and earn at the same time.”

Lee Marshall, managing director at Viridis, added: “First and foremost, I want to formally welcome Alicia and say how fortunate we feel that she’s become part of our team. At Viridis, we’re incredibly passionate about providing opportunities for budding engineers who are enthusiastic about sustainability, as well as supporting them with any part-time education or training that that will benefit their future.

“Cameron is a fantastic example of how someone with the right attitude and determination can carve out a successful start to their career, while also taking the time to earn some industry-recognised qualifications. It’s been great to work alongside Forth Valley College over the last few years to nurture some of their former pupils and provide as much support as possible to give them the best start within the engineering world.”

Lorraine Kerr, Forth Valley College business development partner, said: “Alicia has worked hard throughout the year on the engineering pre-apprentice course, and she was absolutely delighted to secure an apprenticeship with Viridis.

“The engineering pre-apprenticeship has been running very successfully for four years now and is a fantastic steppingstone for young people to progress onto a MA. Cameron has taken another route via the HND and it has also helped him progress to university and then to full-time employment which is great. It is very rewarding to see Alicia and Cameron and so many other young people progress into MAs and full-time work after completion of courses such as these.”