My name's Ross, I'm an Instrument Mechanic apprentice, and I work at the ScottishPower Longannet, which is the centre of Scotland, in Fife, Kincardine, and I've been doing this job for a year and a half now.
I was looking for a job which could give me job security, basically, and where I could also further my education. Also my uncle worked as an instrument mechanic at ScottishPower during his apprenticeship and he recommended me to apply for the job.
Every day's a new challenge for me, basically, because there's so much to learn about the plant. At the start of the day the team leader will come about with work order cards and give them to your tradesman, and the tradesman I'm working with will basically fill me in on the details about the job we're working on. And then the most important thing, the health and safety procedures have to be followed before we go out and do the job.
I recently attended a UK skills competition in Middlesex, where I achieved a silver medal, and since then I've been to a ceremony in Perth, where I was presented with my silver medal by Chris Hoy, which was a brilliant achievement.
All the trades people in the workplace are really friendly and helpful when you're in need. They also don't expect you to know everything, at the end of the day, because there is so much to learn in the plant, so they'll tell you bit-by-bit details if you're really needing help.
ScottishPower gives you a really good pension, and it also allows you to buy shares in the company, which is a really hard thing to find these days.
I would recommend ScottishPower to a friend, because it's a fantastic place to learn practical activities, and also you've got your chance to further your education as well.