Visit to James Jones & Son

A group of Senior pupils who are currently studying Engineering Science at WHA visited James Jones & Sons at their Lockerbie site recently. The focus of the visit was to explore the daily role of an engineer on site and explore how important engineering is within the forestry industry.

The pupils were given a tour of Mills 1,2 and 3 and were shown how crucial it is that the engineers keep the whole mill operating at full capacity. They were interested to hear about the cost implications and impact of any downtime due to mechanical or electrical breakdown. The pupils were able to see first-hand how crucial the James Jones Engineers are to the efficient running of the whole site. It was good to see Ryan Gibson and Ronnie Bradford, former Wallace Hall Academy pupils, working and training on site.

The visit finished with a presentation in the board room where Paul Adamson, Site and Engineering Manager, gave the pupils an overview of the James Jones organisation including information on their fifteen other locations in the UK. The pupils learned about apprenticeships and career opportunities within the industry before returning to school.

Roni Rippingale, S6, said: “This was one of the best school visits I have ever been on. Paul was really welcoming and informative. He highlighted all of the career opportunities available in the firm and made all the jobs sound really interesting. I didn’t expect the site to be as big as it actually is. I was really impressed. A big thank you to Paul and all the other staff at James Jones & Sons for taking the time to work with us.”