A Moray graduate has been helped into the world of work by a new task force set up to boost the region’s employment numbers.
Lauren Westley recently started a three-month work placement course with an offshore engineering firm based in Elgin, and she has already impressed bosses.
The 22-year-old, from Forres, was guided into her new role at the Maris Subsea offices by the area’s Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) group, which was established earlier this year to strengthen links between educators and employers and boost work placement and apprenticeship opportunities.
Miss Westley completed a degree in business management with German at Edinburgh’s Napier University this year.
But she said that the subject covered such a wide spectrum that she was left without a “clear idea” of the type of career she would like to pursue.
Miss Westley added: “Business management is such a broad area that after completing my studies, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to specialise in.
“But I’ve been in this work placement for three weeks, and already I feel like I’ve learned so much.
“The oil and gas industry has so many facets and jobs to it, before I started at Maris Subsea I wasn’t aware of the range of career paths available to me.
“This experience has shown me what I’m capable of, at first I was nervous but my confidence has grown.”
Maris Subsea’s recruitment manager, Philip Hargreaves, said he was so thrilled with Miss Westley’s contributions that he would look to create similar opportunities in the future.
Mr Hargreaves added: “The process of creating a work placement has been much easier than we expected, and Lauren has impressed us all.
“Maris Subsea would be open to working with DYW Moray in future.”
