Engineering award underlines Ellon graduate’s potential

Andrew Milne was presented with the Score Group plc Award for HNC Engineering Practice at the North East Scotland College graduation ceremony at Fraserburgh Campus on Saturday (September 24).

NESCol Graduate Andrew Milne

The 25-year-old, from Ellon, first joined NESCol in 2018 when he completed an NC in Mechanical Manufacture before finding a position in Quality Assurance with a local engineering company.

Unfortunately, after working there for 15 months, he was made redundant due to the pandemic. Andrew didn’t let that setback hold him back and signed up to complete an HNC in Engineering Practice in 2021 to further enhance his skills and knowledge.

His lecturer Kenneth Watt said: “Andrew has excelled over the past year. He is a valued and respected classmate and his attention to detail, willingness to learn and improve embodies everything that we hope to achieve in further education.

NESCol stage party during Saturday’s ceremony.

“The obstacles that he has overcome during the past few years during his employment and at college have been inspirational, this coupled with a strong attention to detail will ensure that he will be an asset to any organisation as he again embarks on the world of work.”

Andrew hopes to continue his career in construction or engineering as he puts his qualifications and experience to use.

Saturday’s event brought more than 300 members of the College community together.

It was the first of five ceremonies taking place, with the remaining four being staged in Aberdeen across 4 and 5 October.