Winch work helps to lift Gael Force engineer into the spotlight
Graduate named Young Employee of the Year at Highland Business Awards
A graduate mechanical engineer working for Scottish fish farming supplier Gael Force Group is celebrating winning the Young Employee of the Year title at the annual Highland Business Awards held in Inverness.
Jacques Huysamer, 23, lifted the award at the event which was held last Friday at the Kingsmills Hotel and organised by Inverness Chamber of Commerce.
Huysamer, a native of Campbeltown on the Kintyre peninsula, joined Gael Force one year ago after completing a degree in Computer-Aided Mechanical Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University.
Since then, he has been involved in the next-generation design of the company’s SeaSight aquaculture camera double winch and has also partnered with the technical development manager to oversee the destructive testing of the Inverness company’s SeaQureLink Ultra mooring ring component for supporting safer, more secure offshore fish farming.
Safer installation
Huysamer has also been developing a cabling system for a net winch system which will provide customers with a safer cable installation inside their sea farm pens.
“Hitting my first-year anniversary at Gael Force Group on the same week as the Highland Business Awards has been capped off by winning the award,” said Huysamer.
“I am grateful for all the personal development opportunities that the technical environment at Gael Force has given me. Being shortlisted for the award in the first instance was as much a reflection on the experienced team around me, so it is a proud moment for us all.”
A new dynamic
Gael Force Group’s people development manager Claire Barnett said: “We are immensely proud of what Jacques has achieved in his relatively short time with Gael Force.
“Jacques has brought a new dynamic and skillset and he has been a model graduate employee, developing at pace with a can-do attitude, commitment, versatility, and with great fortitude. As a business we are highly motivated to encourage the growth of young people within our business through mentorship, real-life projects, reward, and recognition.”
Gael Force said its graduate employee scheme offers newly qualified, skilled individuals the chance to develop a rewarding career in the aquaculture and marine sectors, with the full support of a team of senior colleagues and mentors.
