Dylin Izatt was drawn to Lothian’s Apprenticeship Scheme when an engineer working at the company advised him to apply. Dylin had a passion for engineering and wanted to turn this passion into a career.

“A lot of what I have learned, I’ve been able to transfer outside of work,” said Dylin. “You’re not just learning the trade, but you’re learning how to persevere and complete tasks to a high standard.”

He enjoys working with a variety of different people and has risen to the challenge of working with a variety of tools and vehicles. He admits to being shocked at the size of Lothian’s engineering function when he arrived at the company and at the level of work carried out in the workshops.

However, the on-the-job training has led to him quickly adapting to life at Lothian. He feels this experience is a huge benefit to apprentices and leads to greater learning.

“When you work on a bus and then see it going out on service, it is really rewarding,” Dylan admitted. “The on-the-job learning means that we have to quickly adapt to get things done. It means that our work is contributing to the company delivering a service.

“It can come with pressure but there’s a great sense of achievement too. I feel like I’m really doing my part for the team.”

In 2024, Dylin was named Apprentice of the Year at Lothian’s People Awards. Honoured in front of the whole company, he was proud to win the award. “I worked really hard in my first year,” Dylin said, “and it was a nice feeling to have that work rewarded, demonstrating the progress I’ve made.”

Looking ahead to life after his apprenticeship, Dylin is keen to remain at Lothian, continuing to develop his skillset alongside his colleagues and to bring on future apprentices who will stand in the position he is in now.

“I hope that my training has kick-started a long career for me at Lothian,” he said. “There’s a real friendly environment within the garage and I’d love to progress even further like some of my managers and supervisors have.”

Mia Cairns joined Lothian in 2023 having already gained vital experience as a car mechanic, a job she loved since leaving school.

Driven by her love of engines, she wanted to work on bigger vehicles, leading to her applying to become an apprentice engineer at Lothian.

Mia is one of two female apprentices at Lothian. She has quickly settled into life at the company as a trusted member of the engineering team at Central garage.

“I’ve found it really easy to settle in,” she said. “It’s great working with the guys and being part of the team. They welcomed me straight away and everyone is happy to help out if I need it.”

She’s enjoying her training so far and relishes the chance to work with buses, hoping to become fully qualified at Lothian and ultimately enjoy a long, successful career at the company.

While working with bigger vehicles is more challenging than she first thought, Mia feels the course is rewarding and her work is valued. “Working with bigger vehicles can be tiring sometimes,” she admits, “however, when you finish a task and then see the bus go out on the road, it’s really rewarding.

“Knowing that there is a qualification at the end of the course is pushing me on to do well.”

Mia enjoys learning on-the-job at Lothian. It was a major factor in her decision to pursue a career at the company. She feels rewarded seeing her work directly contribute to buses making service, and feels her own work, and that of her colleagues, is valued across Lothian.

Mia would lo love to see more girls joining her at Lothian and hopes to inspire females into choosing an apprenticeship to develop a new skillset and a career. “Lothian is a great place to learn, everyone is made to feel like a valuable part of the team straight away. It would be great to see more women come into the company.”

Jai Anthony is a third-year apprentice coachbuilder at Lothian, learning his trade at the company’s dedicated coachworks facility at Seafield.

With a keen interest in engineering Jai was looking for apprenticeship to forge a career after leaving school. He applied for the Lothian apprenticeship and was delighted to receive the opportunity to develop his skills at the company.

As a coachbuilder, his training is slightly different to the apprentice mechanics working at one of Lothian’s operational garages. Jai is enjoying this side of his learning and is picking up valuable skills and experience from his colleagues. “I’ve learned to work with bus floors, as well as doing the panelling work on the exterior,” Jai said.

Working at Seafield has given Jai him the chance to ask questions and learn from the vastly experienced team at the coachworks. Seafield is home to some of the company’s most experienced engineers, and they’re all too happy to pass on their knowledge to Jai and his fellow apprentices.

“The best thing about the apprenticeship is the people that I work with,” said Jai. “There’s always a good atmosphere among the team and everyone is eager to help with tasks.”

Due to the wealth of experience on offer, Jai notes that he’s learned many different techniques from different colleagues and has become a well-rounded coachbuilder because of this.

“When the bus leaves Seafield, you know it’s going back out into service,” Jai said. “It’s a really rewarding feeling knowing your work has led to that. “The standards are really high at Seafield and its great knowing you’ve played your part in that. I feel like my work is valued and that my colleagues trust me to do a good job.”

Throughout his apprenticeship, Jai’s confidence has skyrocketed, and he is now comfortable carrying out more tasks on his own and enjoys the greater responsibility that the third-year apprentices take on.

Jai would recommend the apprenticeship to anyone looking for a career in engineering. “It’s a great place to learn,” he said. “Everyone wants you to do well and your confidence grows from completing your day-to-day tasks.”