A commis chef at a Michelin-starred restaurant, a national park ranger at Hadrian’s Wall and a greenkeeper at a Ryder Cup golf course are just some of the exciting roles landed by students graduating from Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC).

Nearly 200 HNC and HND students yesterday (Friday) attended the college’s autumn graduation ceremony at the University of Glasgow’s Bute Hall, where Professor David Hume – former director of The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh – was honoured with an SRUC fellowship (see separate story).

Among those graduating was Euan Welsh, who recently started work at the world-renowned Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, at Gleneagles, after completing his Higher National Diploma (HND) in professional cookery at SRUC’s Elmwood campus in Fife.

Speaking about working at the only restaurant in Scotland to hold two Michelin stars, Euan said: “I would not be here if it wasn’t for SRUC. It wasn’t just the skills I learned, which were really important, but it was character building and helped me develop on a personal level to give me the confidence to work in a restaurant like this.”

Meanwhile, Jason Trinder, an SRUC HNC distance learning student in countryside and environmental management, took an unusual route into his job as a national park ranger. Now based at Northumberland National Park Authority’s new National Landscape Discovery Centre, at The Sill, near Hadrian’s Wall, Hexham, the 46-year-old gave up a 20-year career in IT to embrace his love of the great outdoors.

Another student Adam Black, got a HNC in golf course management and recently completed a six-month work placement at Le Golf National, near Paris – host of The Ryder Cup 2018. The 19-year-old, from Forfar, is now part of the greenkeeping team at Golfclub Fleesensee in Germany.