Shane Kenny - Dawnfresh

Even the smallest mistake can cost many thousands of pounds when you’re looking after 350,000 trout on a fish farm. This is why the right training is so important in the aquaculture industry, and especially for Dawnfresh, the single largest producer and processor of trout in the UK.

A career in aquaculture

“It’s all outdoors, you have to be fit, keep your eyes open all the time and pay attention to detail, especially watching the experienced people around you. You get where you want to be by putting in the effort. There are five sites at Loch Etive, so there are more opportunities to specialise. The younger you start, the better - and if you get the opportunity, take the SVQ qualification.”

 

Twenty-one-year-old Shane Kenny is a perfect example of how the right training, hard work and motivation can transform a newcomer into an invaluable member of staff on a fish farm like those run by Dawnfresh at Loch Etive on the west coast of Scotland.

Within three years of starting with the business Shane became our Aquaculture Learner of the Year for Scotland - an award that we present annually at our Scottish Land-based Learner of the Year Awards.

Shane’s boss at Dawnfresh is Lewis Campbell, who acknowledges not only the husbandry man’s achievement in winning the award, but all the graft that went into getting it.

He praises Shane’s tenacity in learning on the job and completing a Level 2 SVQ in Aquaculture through Inverness College: “The award was confirmation of what Shane could do and it was a great boost to the confidence of a lad why hadn’t enjoyed school much. Everybody likes to be told they’ve done a job well, but it’s even better when that comes from an organisation like Lantra.”

Shane’s progress with Dawnfresh shows no sign of slowing. He has taken a special interest in fish health and the firm is lining up more training for him in that area. Loch Etive is just one Dawnfresh site - the company is also the second largest supplier of scampi frozen in the UK, mussels, prawns and Scotland’s famous Arbroath Smokies.

He is justifiably proud: “The Lantra award was a big step for me. Training helps the business but also means employees get a better understanding of fish farming. It limits mistakes and you’re more aware of what’s going on. I’m interested in fish health. I want to know how to keep them healthy, what makes them sick and why.”

Such interest and awareness is crucial at Loch Etive, where Dawnfresh have five sites and millions of pounds worth of trout at any one time. As Lewis explains: “A sick fish rapidly becomes a dead fish. A mistake one day can cost thousands the next. Our staff have all kinds of statutory training on equipment, power boats, forklifts and cranes, but also feed management and fish health.”

Lewis has spent 12 years in the industry and adds: “The more you learn the more you realise you don’t know. I need to have staff who know what they’re doing, who I can trust when I’m on another site, who know how the job should be done. For that you have to be disciplined and dedicated to do the work right.

“The SVQ is a good grounding and the tutor worked really well with Shane on site. We have put three people through the Level 2 SVQ and it gives them a good grounding.”

Shane, who originally went to Loch Etive to help plasterboard a new office and asked Lewis if there were any jobs going, says you have to be ‘really into fish farming’ to stick with the job.

“It’s all outdoors, you have to be fit, keep your eyes open all the time and pay attention to detail, especially watching the experienced people around you. You get where you want to be by putting in the effort. There are five sites at Loch Etive, so there are more opportunities to specialise. The younger you start, the better - and if you get the opportunity, take the SVQ qualification.”