Family goals lead to Owen’s prize winning path

September 29, 2023

Owen Mackintosh not only celebrated achieving his HNC Engineering Practice at the Fraserburgh Campus graduation ceremony on Saturday but also winning the HNC Engineering Practice Award sponsored by the Score Group.

The award recognises the achievement of an individual who has shown determination and gone above and beyond in the course of their studies and Owen’s lecturers felt he did just that.

The Inverurie engineer completed his HNC as part of a Modern Apprenticeship through employer Rentair Offshore and achieved an A in his final exam. During his two years at College, Owen became a father and worked hard to catch up when he took time out when daughter Avery was born.

This was Owen’s second time at NESCol, having first studied at Fraserburgh Campus when he left school and achieving his SVQ Performing Engineering Operations.

He then worked on a farm for a number of years before moving into the oil and gas sector as an Apprentice Service Technician, deciding he wanted a job with more family friendly hours when he found out he was to become a father.

Owen said: “I’m glad I made the decision to come back to NESCol and achieve my HNC. I was never a big fan of school but I think the great thing about College is that you’re actually studying something you’re interested and want to do well in. The lecturers are great and if you’re keen to learn then they absolutely go out of their way to help you achieve. “

Owen celebrated the occasion with his parents, sister, partner and baby Avery, who is now 10-months-old.