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Spirits firm Gordon & MacPhail creates new apprenticeships to help young people stay local

L-R Aimee Johnston, Donnie Geddes, Martin Forsyth, Libby Hunt, Kaylie Mcrae, Maya McNeil, Christopher Allan & Jodie Clayton.
L-R Aimee Johnston, Donnie Geddes, Martin Forsyth, Libby Hunt, Kaylie Mcrae, Maya McNeil, Christopher Allan & Jodie Clayton.

Moray whisky specialist Gordon & MacPhail (G&M) will offer seven young people the chance to learn about the world of whisky as part of a new apprenticeship scheme.

Over the next 12 months, the family-owned company will support the development and training of seven young modern apprentices.

The company also plans to offer further foundation apprenticeships, which provide training and skills programmes for school pupils, as well as collaborate with local schools and colleges to highlight the “wealth of opportunity” in the drinks industry available to young people on their own doorstep.

Apprenticeships across the company

The modern apprenticeships, which offers on the job training, will cover many aspects of the business from working in the distillery through to working in specialist roles such as finance or international sales, or within the operations team.

Maya McNeil starts her new role as an international sales admin assistant at G&M shortly.

She said: “I was attracted to join Gordon & MacPhail because it is a long established, well-known business which has excellent values.

“Because it is a local business, it was accessible to me and meant that I could continue staying in the area.

“If the role at Gordon & MacPhail was not available to me, I would have most likely have had to move to a larger city to find more career opportunities.”

The company, known for its drinks brands including Gordon & MacPhail whiskies, Benromach single malt and Red Door gin, also provides young people with career mentors.

Its retail shop in Elgin was established by the Urquhart family in 1895.

Benromach still, Gordon & MacPhail.

G&M HR team member Jodie Clayton said: “It’s particularly important to us at Gordon & MacPhail to create a diverse workforce that provides opportunities to people from all backgrounds and skillsets.

“There is a misconception that young people need to move away to a big city to pursue an exciting career, however we want to show that this isn’t the case, and that there’s a wealth of opportunity and talent to learn from in the local area if you know where to look.”

There is a misconception that young people need to move away to a big city to pursue an exciting career.”

Jodie Clayton, HR team member, Gordon & MacPhail

The launch of the apprenticeship scheme comes as the Elgin-based company was named a Young Person’s Guarantee employer to mark the career opportunities it provides for 16-24-year-olds.

The Young Person’s Guarantee, which was launched in September 2020 by the Scottish Government, aims to give all young people the chance for a positive destination through the opportunity of work, an apprenticeship, further education, training or volunteering.

G&M, which is also a Scottish Living Wage employer, worked alongside Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) to develop the new apprentice programme as well as the foundation and graduate apprenticeships it has offered in recent years.

Staying local for jobs and training

DYW business liaison Aimee Stephen said: “Employers need to capture people at a young age and inspire them on what their business and Moray has to offer, something which Gordon & MacPhail has been an advocate of.

“The manufacturing industry in Moray is a fantastic place for young people to develop and grow and Gordon & MacPhail is a great supporter of helping individuals achieve exactly that through various upskilling opportunities.”

Distilling equipment manufactured by Forsyths of Rothes has arrived at the site of Gordon & MacPhail’s new distillery, The Cairn, near Grantown.

Profits up at G&M

Annual results released by Speymalt Whisky Distributors, which trades as Gordon & MacPhail, showed its pre-tax profits rose to £13.9m in the year to the end of February 2021, from £9.8m in the previous 12 months.

The firm’s turnover also increased by 1% to £34.1m, from £33.7m in the same period, while its net assets grew by 19% to £65.7m over the period.

In July 2020 work started on G&M’s new £20m distillery, The Cairn, near Grantown, which is due to open this summer.