Specialists in industrial and commercial pipework, heating and process systems - Established in 1920

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National Apprenticeship Week: 10th – 16th February 2025

This year marks the 18th National Apprenticeship Week, having originally started in 2007 the annual week-long celebration brings together businesses and apprentices across the country to shine a light on the positive impact that apprenticeships make to individuals, businesses and the wider economy.

Together, we can promote the benefits of apprenticeships and related skills programmes, showcasing progression opportunities, exciting new occupational standards, and lots more.

We’re proud to have five apprentices in the team now and had a chat with them about their thoughts on the benefits of an apprenticeship with James Ramsay.

Daniel Robertson, fourth and final year of his service and maintenance apprentice

  • The most important part of the apprenticeship route is that it provides a wide variety of jobs and tasks to widen your knowledge of the full trade
  • The best part is being able to work with multiple tradesmen which allows you to gather different methods of working and obtaining knowledge. To add to this, the multiple sites we are contracted/sub-contracted to allows you to travel across the country to buildings you’d never expect to step foot in.
  • I’ve learned some key skills including different fault-finding methods, client communication and the confidence to complete set tasks.
  • The apprenticeship route is ideal for working and learning while getting paid, and the rate of pay for apprentices is on par compared to other industries. It also enables to you to branch into various careers when the apprenticeship is complete.

Paul Clancy, third year heating and ventilation apprentice

  • Both the college and the team at work support us with anything we need.
  • An apprenticeship is a great thing to do as you will be achieving a qualification to set you up for life, and you’ll never be stuck without work.
  • The best part of this type of work is the variety of jobs and not just doing the same thing every week.
  • Some of the most useful skills I’ve learnt include how to use power tools safely and to a high standard; how to install pipework and boilers; and how to operate various different types of equipment such as scissor lifts and cherry pickers
  • I would highly recommend the apprenticeship route to anyone who is struggling to figure out what career path to follow

Euan Caddell, second year heating and ventilation apprentice

  • The most important thing about apprenticeships is learning new skills and trades whether that be hands on or knowledge of the trade.
  • The deciding factor of taking the apprenticeship route was seeing how it played out with others around me who took that path and also the opportunities it can lead to.
  • The best parts of working for James Ramsay are being surrounded with good tradesmen and people, whether that be on site or the office staff. I also enjoy the experience of being on site, doing different jobs and working in different situations.
  • The three life skills I have learned in my apprenticeship are communication, problem solving and teamwork.
  • I would 100% recommend the apprenticeship route to others due to the experience and skills you gain as well as earning a nationally recognised qualification at the end of the apprenticeship.

Sam Buchanan, first year heating and ventilation apprentice

  • The apprenticeship scheme provides you with a chance to learn on the job whilst you work, but also learning more in college about how things work and reasons for why things work
  • The deciding factor in me choosing to leave school early and do an apprenticeship is the opportunity to have a sustainable and secure career so early in my life, giving me lots of years ahead to learn more about the job
  • The best part of the apprenticeship is the wide choice of trades available, and the chance to continue extending my qualifications after I complete my apprenticeship, for example steam, gas and welding.
  • During my time so far I have learned key skills in communicating, problem solving and adapting to something completely new
  • I’d recommend an apprenticeship route as it is really way to learn a trade at a young age while getting out working for hands-on experience early in your career, learning many new skills along the way.

Jamie McPhee, first year heating and ventilation apprentice

  • For me, the most important thing about the apprenticeship scheme is that you can leave school and start a trade young and earn good money – I believe starting a trade can set me up for life.
  • Thanks to the apprenticeship route, I’m gaining good experience working on tools and learning new things every day.
  • Three key skills I have learned so far are responsibility, how to structure my day and independently figuring out what I need to complete my work tasks.
  • I would recommend taking the apprenticeship route so you can learn how to be in a trade and be qualified for a job for the rest of your life.

We are in the process of developing our own bespoke in-house apprenticeship scheme to address the current skills gap within our industry – more to follow on this soon.

Let’s work together to make National Apprenticeship Week 2025 the biggest and best yet!

Pipework specialist
Company News

£18k equipment upgrade investment

Following our significant investment at the end of last year, we’re delighted to have several new pieces of equipment now up and running in our workshop.

  1. A Novopress radial press-fit gun
  2. A Rigid compact threading machine
  3. A Key Plant KPI4-EPipe Bevelling Machine

Campbell Gilmour, Finance Director at James Ramsay, said: “We’re always looking for ways to improve resources for our team and the end result for our customers so with feedback from our engineers, we researched and carefully selected our most recent capex investment to upgrade our workshop equipment.

“Feedback from the team is really positive and we’re eager to pass on the benefits through our on-going customer projects.”

Gary Shepherd
Company News

Double digit business growth

Our latest set of accounts (FY23-FY24) demonstrates yet another strong year of growth and key business advancements.

Highlights from the past year include a 13.67% increase in turnover, with impressive gains in our mechanical (13.3%) and service (17.7%) departments. While our boiler hire department experienced a decline, the overall business trajectory remains positive, and we have made a key investment in this area to bolster our service provision.

Our team has grown significantly, with employee numbers rising from 76 in March 2023 to 89 currently, comprising 64 engineers and apprentices and 25 administrative staff. We’ve also expanded our apprentice programme, with five apprentices now training in our mechanical and service departments, ensuring the future strength of our workforce.

Customer growth remains robust, with a 5% increase taking us to 400 customers and a 33% rise in the sites we service, now nearing 2,000 across Scotland and northern England.

Investments in innovation and infrastructure include advanced workshop equipment such as the Novopress radial pressing device, a Rigid 300 compact threading machine, and a Key Plant KPI4-E pipe bevelling machine – all of which further enhance our capabilities.

Looking ahead, we’re excited to announce that we have secured a new, larger, purpose-built premises, with a planned move in April 2025, to support our expanding operations and workforce.

Queens Quay district heating
Market commentary

UK engineering poised for growth in 2025

The UK engineering sector faced a year of cautious optimism in 2024, marked by resilience amidst global challenges. Recovery from supply chain disruptions and the energy crisis bolstered growth across key industries, including manufacturing, construction, and renewable energy. Public sector investments in infrastructure projects and government support for green energy initiatives, such as offshore wind and hydrogen technology, stimulated demand for engineering expertise.

However, the sector continues to grapple with persistent skills shortages, particularly in specialist roles, and inflationary pressures that increased project costs. The accelerating adoption of digital tools like AI, BIM and robotics to enhance efficiency are being embraced and also helping in some instances to offset labour gaps.

Looking to the year ahead in 2025, the outlook is broadly positive. A forecasted 2.5% growth in overall engineering output reflects stronger economic conditions, further bolstered by significant public and private investment in infrastructure and energy.

The continued rollout of net-zero policies and large-scale renewable projects, such as carbon capture and sustainable transport, are expected to drive growth in green engineering and we’re already seeing some really exciting projects coming through the doors.

Challenges remain, including the need for skilled talent and navigating evolving regulatory landscapes. Industry-wide initiatives to reskill the workforce and leverage technological innovation will be key to sustaining momentum. And we continue to invest heavily in nurturing the next generation of talent through our on-going apprenticeships and training schemes, as well as focus on retention of the best people in the industry.

In summary, we’re optimistic about being an integral member of the UK engineering sector as we enter 2025 positioned for growth, supported by robust investment in infrastructure and sustainability.

SafeContractor
Company News

SafeContractor approved

We’re pleased to report that we have secured our SafeContractor scheme accreditation following a rigorous audit by Alcumus.

Ian Mathieson, Business Director at James Ramsay, said: “Safety is always a top priority at James Ramsay, and our re-accreditation with SafeContractor demonstrates our continuing commitment to safety, compliance and quality in all that we do.”

Recognised by more than 50,000 customers, including 450 big-name brands globally, SafeContractor is trusted by the world’s most respected organisations to help them create better, more sustainable workplaces.

Alcumus said: “We’ve helped thousands of organisations embrace safe, ethical ways of working. We take the pain out of compliance for organisations, helping them protect their people, their operations, and the planet, so clients can be confident about you and reduce risk in their supply chain.

“By connecting buyers with accredited suppliers and making the supply chain more transparent, we help customers save time, lower costs, and manage major risks.”

Find out more at SafeContractor

Company News

Carbon Reduction Plan

We’re thrilled to announce that we have successfully attained our Carbon Reduction Plan through the Net Zero Accelerator programme!

This milestone reflects our unwavering commitment to sustainability and aligns with our long-term goal of contributing to a more sustainable future. Throughout the programme, we’ve taken tangible steps to understand and reduce our carbon footprint, ensuring our operations are more environmentally friendly.

A huge thank you to the team at Net Zero Nation and Net Zero International for their guidance and expertise in assisting us in this landmark achievement.

This is just the beginning of our sustainability journey, and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in reducing our environmental impact.

Together, we can make a real difference!

Company News

ConstructionLine Gold Secure

We have secured the industry-leading ConstructionLine Gold membership for yet another year, demonstrating our compliance with industry standards, such as PAS 91 and the Common Assessment Standard, and reinforcing our status as a trusted industry supplier.

Ian Mathieson, Business Director at James Ramsay, said: “Adopted by some of the largest buyers in the UK, ConstructionLine Gold supports us to streamline the prequalification process and stand out to buyers seeking top-tier suppliers by confirming our services are fully compliant.”

The ConstructionLine platform hosts more than 20,000 buyers representing more than 3,800 construction firms across the entirety of the UK. Find out more at ConstructionLine Gold.

Company News

Health and Safety Acclaim

We have now been accredited by Acclaim for health and safety through Safety Systems in Procurement (SSIP), the scheme supported by the HSE and universally accepted in public and private sector procurement.

Acclaim works to support the objectives of the SSIP: to improve health and safety standards across the UK and to reduce duplication of paperwork in procurement.

Ian Mathieson, Business Director at James Ramsay, said: “SSIP was developed to act as an umbrella body, which is recognised by a large and growing number of buyers, to provide confidence to buyers that suppliers have been successfully assessed to the SSIP core criteria.

“From a supplier perspective, it helps us to reduce duplication through the accreditation process and further demonstrates our credentials and education in health and safety compliance.”

Launched in 2012, Acclaim is the health and safety certification service provided by Supplier Assessment Services. It carries out an online assessment of a company’s health and safety documentation and work activities as an independent competent assurance of the systems in place.

Company News

National Engineering Day: keeping the wheels turning

By Raymond Shepherd, Technical Sales Engineer

The person who inspired me to become an engineer was my father, James Shepherd. He had originally trained as a sowing machine engineer and worked at the Singer sowing machine factory in Clydebank, before moving to the new car factory at Linwood and retraining to become a die setter. My father new all things mechanical. He maintained and repaired his own car, he stripped down and rebuilt watches and clocks, he repaired all the lawnmowers for friends and family, he was a genuine all-rounder, and nothing phased him.

From the age of 14, I was swapping out car engines with my father – there was nothing we couldn’t do, and we had great fun doing it.

I was very lucky, I left school at 16 with no qualifications, but apprenticeships were plentiful and I had a choice of three or four. Eventually, I chose Govan shipbuilders as a mechanical marine engineer. It was a fantastic apprenticeship that covered a wide range of topics that provided a broad engineering skill set that set you up well for a career in engineering. The shipyard introduced me to steam as one of the contracts was a major overhaul of a large bulk carrier that was steam-driven. I was fascinated by engineering and its history and today I continue to work in a business that has its own proud steam heritage originally on the Clyde and now serving the whole UK.

Steam powered the Industrial Revolution and now, more than a hundred years on, it is still depended on by the medical, pharmaceutical, food, paper, process and many other sectors. Steam has been ever present for the past hundred years and I believe will still be here in another hundred years’ time.

Engineering is such a broad term and encompasses so many different skill sets. At James Ramsay, we have coded welders, we have mechanical engineers, we have pipe fitters, we have heating engineers, we have electrical engineers, and we have service engineers, all of this team have served apprenticeships. They have completed the four or five years it takes to become a journeyman, the term widely used to describe the engineer who has served his or her time and become the one who now passes on the skills to the next generation of young people entering the trade. We have one female gas service engineer, and this shows there are no barriers to entering the trade.

My older son Gary served his time with James Ramsay as a heating engineer and attended Glasgow University to complete his degree in Mechanical Engineering. He is now the Managing Director. My younger son Jamie served his time as an electrical engineer and then retrained as a gas service engineer. He is now the Service Director.

Having worked at James Ramsay as an engineer, an operations director, a managing director, a chairman and now, in my semi-retirement, a humble sales engineer, I have immense pride in seeing a good number of young men and older men make the move into engineering at the business, we still have a good number of engineers who served their time at the business and remain with the company to this day. Adult apprenticeships were a fantastic way of offering older lads and young men a route into the trade when they possibly feared they had missed the opportunity. We have an older gentleman, Malcolm Aitken, moving towards the end of his career who took the adult apprenticeship route well over 20 years ago and we have a younger chap, Colin Bright, who completed his adult training around five years ago and who continues to go from strength to strength. We currently have five or six young apprentices and a commitment from the directors to continue with this recruitment plan.

During my time at James Ramsay, we have been involved in some fantastic projects and I have been lucky to visit places and sites that are of extreme interest. I have been inside most of HM prisons in Scotland, I have walked across the Forth Rail bridge, I have visited nuclear power stations, I have been in the main naval bases around Scotland, I have been in hydroelectric plants, I have been on steam ships on the Clyde, Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine, and I have been in some incredible historic buildings.

We have taken on some great projects throughout the years, including new steam boilers being lowered in through the roof of The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, numerous steam boiler installations at distilleries throughout Scotland such as Glen Goyne, Bunnahabhain, Kilchoman, Ardnahoe, Glenfarclas and many others. We are currently installing four new steam boilers in Glasgow’s Barlinnie prison, and we recently completed a project to remove water from the river Clyde for a ground-breaking heat recovery project at Clydebank.

We have a rich history of great engineers from Scotland such as John Loggie Baird (the TV), Thomas Telford (Caledonian Canal), Robert Stevenson (designer of lighthouses) and of course James Watt (the steam engine). Engineering is a fantastic trade that is essential to keeping the wheels of industry turning.

Company News

NEBOSH secured

Our operations director, Ian Mathieson, has successfully completed the NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety.

He said: “Safety is always a top priority at James Ramsay, and it’s brilliant to have access to the world-class training and professional development available from NEBOSH to ensure we continue to champion and inspire the world of work to be a safer, healthier environment for us all.”

The NEBOSH National General Certificate is the gold standard in health and safety qualifications.

It has been designed to reflect the needs of today’s employer, providing learners everything they need to know and do to make their workplace safer by helping to minimise workplace injuries and illness, boost employee wellbeing and demonstrate commitment to health and safety.

Course content covers:

  • How to effectively manage health and safety
  • How to identify and control common workplace hazards
  • How to measure if you’ve been successful
  • The UK’s key legal requirements

The NEBOSH National General Certificate has been accredited and credit rated by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and involves a minimum of 68 taught hours and approximately 40 hours of private study and background reading.

More than 50,000 people take a NEBOSH (National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health) qualification every year. The scheme’s health, safety and environmental qualifications are globally recognised and taken by people working in all types of industries, as well as national and local government organisations.

Find out more about NEBOSH here.