Earlier this month, before Government advice on gatherings of people changed, it was my very great pleasure to help host the ALBAS — our Awards for Land Based and Aquaculture Skills — and what a wonderful evening it was!
Although not all the finalists were invited up onto the stage to collect an award, we received some fantastic nominations and they should all be very proud of their achievements.
Stars was our theme for the evening, and we even had Jim Smith presenting the awards, our very own land-based star! Though, as fabulous as Jim is, I’m afraid that he is not my favourite star.
No, as a scientist by training and probably the least cool person in Lantra, I have to admit my favourite star is HR2061, which, I am sure we all know, is also called Betelgeuse and forms Orion the Hunter’s right shoulder.
Why am I telling you this? Well, this red supergiant is changing. Previously one of the brightest stars in the sky, over the last few months it has been dimming to the point that it is now barely visible.
I am sure we have all felt like recently! Particularly our finalists — with course work, portfolio submissions, dealing with the weather, dealing with social media, Coronavirus restrictions…
But, whilst Betelgeuse has dimmed, soon…( could be next week, could be 10,000 years — astrophysicists get away with a huge margin of error…) but probably within our lifetime it will become a supernova — it will go from being very faint, to the brightest star in our sky, visible even during the day!
So, I’d like us to take some inspiration from Betelgeuse. If the shape of the earth’s firmament can change, if something as seemingly permanent as the shape of the night sky can change within our lifetime, then we can certainly change some minds.
Change how we do things.
Change our world for the better.
Please have no doubt that all the finalists shone brightly during their interviews, to the point that our judges found it incredibly hard to select the winners. Therefore, I hope they will also all agree to become Lantra Industry Champions. Both so we can help to support their continued development within their sector, but also so that they can help us to ‘spread the word’ and help to bring in the best and brightest to Scotland’s land based and aquaculture sectors.
But unlike a supernova, we don’t want them to burn out! So, at the ALBAS it was great to meet some of the people who made sure this didn’t happen to our finalists. The families, friends, workmates, teachers or lecturers and employers. It was wonderful to see the pride their supporters had in the finalists, and in their success.
During the awards, I also reassured our finalists, that as they move on, taking on new roles and responsibilities, there are a wealth of organisations there to offer support and ensure that their light continues to shine, no matter what path they take.
Because of course, Lantra’s key supporters are also their supporters. SDS, SRUC, SAIC, SAOS... (and all the rest, too many to mention, some of which don’t even begin with S!), they are not faceless acronyms, they are organisations with people and resources to help our new entrants to grow and develop in their careers.
Because whether it is by supporting our work through skills initiatives, running courses, contributing financially to land based and aquaculture skills developments or just by booking seats for the ALBAS – they have all helped to support our work, which in turn helps us to support them.
There are a huge number of other individuals who are key to the success of the ALBAS. For example, Erika Hay and her team of independent judges ; Rebecca Dawes, Keith Redpath, Jimmy MacLean, Keith Paterson, Scott Mason, Lisa Connell and Jennifer Allison who commit an enormous amount of (unpaid!) time to reviewing the nominations and interviewing short-listed candidates – this simply would not happen without their help. And of course, the Scotland team, who plan and deliver the event. Annabel, Jeni, Jim, Jacky, Kelli, Kevin, Lorna and Sheena - well done!
It was also wonderful that Jamie Hepburn MSP, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills could present our new award — The Anna Murray Award for Partnership Working, which was won by the Women in Agriculture Taskforce.
In conclusion, although the future might seem uncertain sometimes, there is a lot of support out there, to ensure we can keep our light shining! The ALBAS showcase what is possible when people work in partnership and provides a really effective platform to shout about that success and support.
This is particularly important for new entrants, because the future is literally in their hands. We all need them to help bring the change that the world needs so badly and the only way we can help, is to support and encourage them to do it well, for the right reasons and in partnership.
You can find out more about our fantastic ALBAS finalists here.