TWO rural trainees from East Lothian have been recognised at Lantra Scotland’s Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills (ALBAS).

The award ceremony took place at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Dunblane Hydro last Thursday.

Naomi Ramsay, from Ormiston, won a Council for Awards of Agricultural Societies Award (CARAS) and a Higher Education Learner of the Year for SCQF Level 8 (HND) award.

Naomi has been undertaking an HND in agriculture at SRUC Oatridge, West Lothian.

CARAS awards were established by the UK’s four national agricultural societies, including the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), to recognise distinguished achievements in agriculture and related land-based industries.

Said Naomi: “I’m really honoured to win these two awards.

“Being nominated for an award is great and to go on and win something is a real confidence boost.

“I’m looking forward to my career in the agriculture sector.”

East Lothian Courier: Jack Forsyth is congratulated by awards host Cammy WilsonJack Forsyth is congratulated by awards host Cammy Wilson (Image: Contributed)

Meanwhile, Jack Forsyth, from East Linton, was runner-up in the Agriculture Learner of the Year category.

Jack is undertaking a modern apprenticeship in agriculture at Borders College, while working for Bielgrange Ltd, near Stenton.

More than 230 finalists, event supporters, employers, training providers and industry leaders attended the awards evening, including Mairi Gougeon MSP, cabinet secretary for rural affairs and islands.

After an opening address by the cabinet secretary, social media star and sheep farmer Cammy Wilson presented the winners and runners-up with industry awards for agriculture, aquaculture, equine, game and wildlife, horticulture, land-based engineering, and trees and timber.

The winners and runners-up for ALBAS 2023 were chosen by an independent judging panel made up of influential figures from across the land-based and aquaculture sector, chaired by Keith Paterson of Forestry and Land Scotland.

The ALBAS are organised by Lantra, the sector skills council for the land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries.

Liz Barron-Majerik, Scotland director at Lantra, said: “We have again had some fantastic entries for the ALBAS, and everyone who was nominated should be very proud of their achievements.

“Our learners are literally the best of the best from our sector, a sector which is crucial to the economy, our communities and for the environment.

“There was an impressive range of representatives from industry and skills organisations at our ceremony too.

“We were delighted to have the cabinet secretary for rural affairs and islands, Mairi Gougeon, joining us, and for Cammy Wilson from the Sheep Game to host the awards.

“The ALBAS can only take place because of the huge amount of unpaid time that Keith Paterson and his team of independent judges put in, reviewing the nominations and interviewing short-listed candidates.”