Kieren Fraser – GA BEng (Hons) Engineering: Design and Manufacture

Young engineer Kieren Fraser has managed to successfully complete his Graduate Apprenticeship (GA) from his Shetland home.

The 23-year-old will walk across the stage at P&J Live after securing a first-class honours degree while working for a local engineering company.

Kieren admits the GA began at the right time for him having completed a previous engineering qualification.

He said the distance learning element of the Engineering: Design and Manufacture programme was beneficial because he did not have to travel hundreds of miles to Aberdeen.

Kieren said: “The opportunity to do the Graduate Apprenticeship came along at a good time as I had just finished an SVQ3 and was looking into possible next steps for career progression. The course was very appealing as I could study whilst staying in Shetland.

“I left school and started as a Project Engineer Apprentice with Malakoff, an engineering firm based in Shetland. I carried out an SVQ 3 in Construction Management before moving onto my degree.

“The course was the most suitable distance learning package available. Staying in Shetland, it was beneficial to only need to go to the campus once a term. This was the main reason I was attracted to the course.”

Kieren is proud after completing his course and is even planning on returning to education. He said getting the chance to visit campus on occasion was a positive experience too.

He said that GA was of benefit to him and his company meaning he could gain qualifications and build up hands-on engineering experience at the same time.

Kieren said: “I am proud of my achievements as it now puts me in a good place in the workplace. I have gained good qualifications whilst gaining vital work experience.

“I enjoyed the campus days where we got to see a lot of the equipment which we learned about online. I also enjoyed meeting people from different companies and discussing everybody’s experience of the course.

“I feel that my time at RGU has been very beneficial, it has allowed me to gain the qualifications which are useful in my role at Malakoff. It has worked well for both myself and the company, meaning I now have good experience and qualifications.”