Monkton high-flyer Anna Manson is a great Ambassador for Scotland’s apprentices.

Named Apprentice Ambassador of the Year 2018 at the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards, aeronautical engineer Anna, 22, received the Award at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.

When her Prestwick-based employers Spirit AeroSystems asked Anna to speak to local primary pupils about her engineering apprenticeship, little did she know that it would lead to her becoming one of the faces of a national campaign.

Anna said: “It is amazing and I really didn’t expect it at all. Apprenticeships are so important because you get to learn, you can still go to university and get a degree through an apprenticeship, you get paid but you also get the work experience which is the key to everything.”

Anna was one of a handful of apprentices from different sectors who were photographed to promote this year’s Scottish Apprenticeship Week and the inspiring images were used in the media and in a photographic exhibition seen by thousands of rail commuters.

She has also featured in Spirit AeroSystems promotions and taken part in awareness raising campaigns for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects including ‘This Ayrshire Girl Can’.

Anna got the opportunity of work experience at Spirit AeroSystems and realised she wanted to become an engineer. She has since completed her apprenticeship, a HNC and HND in aeronautical engineering at Ayrshire College.

SDS Chief Executive Damien Yeates said: “I am delighted Anna’s valuable contribution has been recognised with this Award. Her efforts show how work-based learning, enthusiastic apprentices and committed employers are changing Scotland’s skills landscape and creating our future workforces.”