History of apprenticeships and other training schemes Alistair Fraser Engineering Craft Apprenticeship Scheme That the work carried out at Dounreay greatly added to man’s knowledge of nuclear science and engineering has never been in doubt; what is also not in doubt is that in the pursuit of this knowledge many young people were given the opportunity to train in a variety of skills, and to help them extend the boundaries of their own knowledge. One of the very early decisions UKAEA took in 1955 was to set up an engineering craft apprenticeship scheme. UKAEA was anxious to ensure that as the site developed and expanded there was available a pool of skilled labour. The logical step was an inhouse training scheme that each year would employ a number of school-leavers and train them in a variety of engineering skills. The 1955 intake on a trip south The autumn of 1955 saw the first intake of eleven young men, ten from Caithness and one from Sutherland. Their first instructor was Caithness-born William Sutherland, and together they set about developing, from scratch, the training centre, a building originally constructed as part of the wartime aerodrome. But UKAEA was not content with just delivering the basic skills – it saw the scheme as a stepping stone to a greater knowledge and a broader horizon for the individual. Right from the start the apprentices were required to study, initially in temporary accommodation in Thurso, then at Robert Gordon’s Technical College, Aberdeen, and finally at Thurso Technical College, when it opened in 1958. UKAEA also took a keen interest in both the health and physical wellbeing of the apprentices. They encouraged physical training and, in the early days, utilised the experience of Johnny Duffus, a UKAEA employee and physical training instructor. When the first, purpose-built apprentice training centre opened in

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1960, it also incorporated a gymnasium, complete with wall-bars, vaulting horses, etc. and, novel for the time, the apprentices were sent to outward-bound centres. From an initial intake of eleven in 1955 the scheme quickly developed until the number reached around 35 new recruits annually. The Vulcan establishment next door was also employing apprentices whose training was carried out in conjunction with the UKAEA training scheme. To ensure that UKAEA was able to attract the best young people, the recruitment area was widened to include Orkney, Shetland and much of the Highlands. To accommodate this extended “family”, a 70-bed hostel called Naver House was built in 1962 within the Pennyland housing estate in Thurso. In the mid-1970s, the traditional male-dominated apprenticeship scheme recruited its first female apprentice, Catherine Rosie, a local girl. When the Government announced in 1988 that the fast reactor development programme would cease in 1994, UKAEA reviewed its resource needs, including the apprenticeship scheme. That review included the proposal to close down the scheme in 1994, when the 1989 intake would reach the end of their training period. Conscious of the fact that the UKAEA apprenticeship scheme was the only engineering training scheme of any significance in the north of Scotland, and that there would be a continued need for a skilled engineering workforce into the foreseeable future, UKAEA decided to continue with the scheme but with a reducing annual number. The subsequent divestment of large parts of the workforce to private companies meant that, by the turn of the century, recruitment by UKAEA had reduced to about five a year. In 2003, reflecting the change from operations to shutdown, Dounreay broke new ground when it launched Britain’s first modern apprenticeship in nuclear operations and decommissioning. In a move applauded by political and trade union leaders, the first intake saw four UKAEA trainees and one from RWE Nukem, one of the major sub-contractors at the site whose workforce included many divested from the partial privatization of UKAEA during the 1990s. In 2006, this scheme was integrated into the engineering craft apprenticeship, with 10 places offered. An important milestone was reached in 2004 with the appointment of UKAEA’s 1000th craft apprentice. Gary Davidson, from Wick, was introduced at the UKAEA annual prize-giving in Thurso by the guest speaker, First Minister Jack McConnell. Looking on were seven of the 1955 intake, including UKAEA’s first apprentice, James Macdonald, originally from Armadale in north Sutherland, and the scheme’s first instructor, William Sutherland, who sadly passed away during the production of this book.

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An apprentice training scheme that had commenced with high hopes, in the most spartan of conditions, and one that enriched the lives of so many young people, had reached a milestone few of its founding fathers could have dreamt of.
Clerical and Secretarial Training Scheme This scheme was established in 1960 to provide vocational training in clerical and typing skills for 15-year old school leavers – then the minimum school leaving age. Its purpose was two-fold, to provide a social need as well as a source of trained administrators for the expanding site. The first intake amounted to twelve people, six clerical and six secretarial. To begin with their training centre was a wooden hut adjacent to the canteen. There, the first two instructors, Joe Byrne and Jean Hannah, taught them the rudiments of administration and of typing. Typing then, of course, was done on manual typewriters, either a Remington or an Olivetti. The only comparison with today’s word processor system is the lay-out of the characters on the keyboard. Every participant in the secretarial scheme already had a good grounding in typing and shorthand skills as part of their secondary education. Two former trainees, Barbara Downie, a member of the very first intake, and Janet Rosie, both recall how Mrs Mary Sutherland, their commercial subjects teacher in Thurso High School, taught them their keyboard skills to a background of an appropriate piece of music! While they were not allowed to look at the keyboard, they followed a copy of the layout on the blackboard. To this musical background, and “singing” aloud the names of each character, firstly they typed five characters with the left hand and five with the right hand, concluding with “carriage return”, which took the paper-roller back to its start position. The ditty went something like: “ASDFG, semi-colon; LKJH carriage return.” They repeated this over and over again. Once they had mastered this sequence, the middle row of the key board, they then practiced their fingers on the other rows until the system was mastered. By the time they arrived at Dounreay their typing skills would be around 60 words per minute for shorthand and 30 words per minute for typing. The scheme at Dounreay was designed to hone these skills so that by the end of it they would be achieving 100 words per minute for shorthand and 60 words per minute for typing. You were then selected for a placement on site that best suited your skills. The ultimate placement, of course, was the director’s office. The clerical trainees were taught a variety of skills designed to improve office management techniques, learn the intricacies of finance management and, in particular, to introduce the trainee to the unique requirements of a nuclear site.

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Alongside this, all trainees were required to attend courses in Thurso Technical College where a rapidly expanding curriculum was on offer to further enhance their capability. But times were rapidly a-changing. During the forty years that had elapsed from the first intake of trainees, administration techniques had dramatically changed. Then, copying of documents was done either by the use of carbon paper or messy chemicals. High-speed photo-copiers did away with all of this. Dictation gradually gave way to dictaphones that in turn gave way to the growing use of personal, and lap-top computers. Administrators, who previously used pen and ink to write up and log facts and figures, also started to use computers. This allowed them to create a format to fit any need, gave them the facility to store and retrieve documents, very quickly, without creating a piece of paper. That said, there is still a lot of paperwork about today. So, over the years, the training scheme was continually being tailored to suit not only the demands of the site, but to meet the rapidly changing systems the electronic age brought to administrative systems. Throughout this ever-changing scene, the training of recruits remained constant. Both at the workplace and at day release courses in Thurso Technical College, they were encouraged to aspire to their full potential. However, in 2004, with the decommissioning programme taking shape which would require a much different administrative structure, the decision was taken to end this training scheme, which by now was being provided through an agency, Morson. The scheme had lasted forty-four years during which 564 young people had been offered a foothold on the first rung of the administration career ladder.
Scientific Training Scheme In 1965, UKAEA introduced a scientific training scheme to compliment its engineering apprenticeship and clerical and typing training schemes. The training circle was all but complete. Two of the people who were among the first group to arrive on site that September morning were Alex Macdonald and Brian Munro. They were to remain with UKAEA for the rest of their working lives, retiring, appropriately together, in 2006.

Alex and Brian on the day of their retirement, making a nostalgic return to the place they started their training

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The work being carried out at Dounreay required virtually every element of science. To afford an insight into this broad canvas, a structured training programme was devised whereby the trainees spent four three month placements in a different part of the site, during their first year. This provided each person with an insight into the work, but it also provided the trigger for the individual to specialise in a particular subject. It was a requirement of their employment that they attend college to attain nationally recognised certificates and diplomas. For many this would be the spur that would lead them to studying for a university degree. James Gunn, a Caithness farmer’s son, was to take this route. “For anyone wishing to pursue a career in science, Dounreay, with its variety, opened up a world of opportunity that would be enhanced by a university degree,” he recalls. James was given unpaid leave to cover his four-year course at Edinburgh University where he gained his degree in chemistry. James returned to Dounreay where today he works in strategy. Colin Macdonald was also born on a Caithness farm, and he too set his heart on a scientific career. In 1974, as a 16-year old, he joined the training scheme and over the next four years studied for his ONC and HNC in chemistry. This encouraged him to study for a chemistry degree through Parts One and Two graduate course of the Royal College of Chemistry. Studying, which earned Colin a Second Class Honours degree, was done through Thurso Technical College and Paisley University. Today, Colin is waste storage and transport manager with UKAEA at Dounreay. With the closure of PFR and the gradual cessation of its fuel processing plants, the need for a full-scale analytical support started to diminish. The intake in 1999 proved to be the last in a line of 220 scientific trainees.
Government Training Schemes In 1983 the Government introduced the Youth Training Scheme (YTS). This noncraft scheme was designed to introduce young people to the workplace and to work experience through a structured programme. UKAEA had previously considered setting up such a scheme, particularly for plant operators and other tasks that required a certain degree of skill and training. The YTS provided the opportunity and Dounreay became a managing agent for the scheme. Those employed through the YTS received properly planned and organised work experience in order that they would obtain occupational competence. A tutor ensured that they achieved a standard of competence in order that they would become good employees. An important element of the scheme was a requirement to study for an appropriate Scottish Vocational Educational Council (SCOTVEC) course at Thurso Technical College.

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In 1993, Dounreay ceased being a managing agent for the scheme, but not before 213 young people had received their first work experience and training. One such person who was given a career opportunity via this route is Leslie Mackay. Leslie was born on a croft in Skerray, north Sutherland, and was awarded a YTS placement in 1989. A year later, upon completion of his training, Leslie was offered a full-time post with UKAEA, and today is a supervisor in one of the site’s waste facilities. “The scheme, as managed by UKAEA, was my passport to an interesting and challenging role, and one that I enjoy immensely,” said Leslie.
Conclusion Apart from the skills learned by the individual, and the almost certainty of a job upon successful completion of the training, what other benefits flowed from the various training schemes? There is little doubt that the presence of Dounreay, with its emphasis on a skilled labour force, encouraged the Caithness education authority to build the Thurso Technical College in 1958, then the only such facility north of Aberdeen. The college was also available to the general public, thereby extending the learning culture to a wider audience. For many, training at Dounreay enabled them to develop a rewarding career. Caithness-born David Mackay was among the first group of apprentices taken on in 1955. After completing his apprenticeship, he joined a number of companies and retired as general manager of JVC UK. He became visiting professor of engineering at Strathclyde University and, in 1998, was awarded the OBE for services to design and industry. Barbara Downie spent the greater part of her working life in the Home Office in London, and the Scottish Office, both in London and Edinburgh. “I have to thank Mrs Sutherland, our secondary teacher for her initial training,” said Barbara. “Dounreay then provided the facilities to develop your skill. It also instilled in you a great sense of pride in your work and the confidence to fulfill your potential. I owe everything to Dounreay.” For James and Colin there was the opportunity to work with, and learn from, some of the foremost nuclear scientists of their day, an opportunity both very much cherish and are grateful for. But, most importantly, it introduced to the area a wide range of skills, hitherto not readily available, if at all. Prior to the arrival of UKAEA to Dounreay, any available apprenticeships would mostly be gained within the building industry. Farming and fishing only offered limited opportunities.

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Dounreay changed that. Almost overnight, a valuable vein of opportunity opened up that was to enrich the lives of all those whom it touched, and were prepared to grasp it.

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