Ferry company Caledonian MacBrayne will take its Recruitment Roadshow to Stornoway next week to meet students at LewsCastleCollege and also offer other potential seafarers interested in a career at sea the chance to explore the opportunities on offer.

CalMac Fleet ManagerKeithUnderhill will lead the team which will be in Stornoway on Tuesday and Wednesday March 23 and 24. One of the key aims of the Roadshow is to meet as many as possible of the thirty or so students who are currently receiving Personal Survival Techniques (PST) training at LewsCastleCollege on the Tuesday afternoon. The event is then open to everyone on Wednesday.

CalMac will be represented by key staff from Support Services in Gourock, including Human Resources, Training and Manning personnel, as well as local staff from Stornoway.

Mr. Underhill said: “This Roadshow is the second of a series we are planning throughout the network with the College campus in Benbecula, being the next likely venue. We were delighted with the response to the first event in Glasgow , which was very much a trial run. We have already established very close links with LewsCastleCollege through the training work we undertook last summer. This offers us the opportunity to build on that and also to meet people who may be interest in following up careers opportunities with CalMac for the first time. We are interested in meeting people who have any interest whatsoever in working with us at sea in our deck, catering or engine room departments, or onshore. There are seasonal opportunities from this summer and also, as part of our succession planning, longer-term opportunities which will no doubt be attractive to many people.”

The Recruitment Roadshow will take place from 1000 until 1600 on Wednesday, March 24 at LewsCastleCollege . The event is open to anyone with an interest in a career at sea with CalMac, which has traditionally employed a significant number of its crews from the Western Isles.

ends

For further information on the contents of this News Release, please contact Hugh Dan MacLennan, Public Affairs Manager, Caledonian MacBrayne.

Tel: 0776 435 4021; e-mail hugh.maclennan@calmac.co.uk, or KeithUnderhill, CalMac Fleet manager, Tel: 01475 650 341

Issued:  Wednesday, March 17 2004  : 1000