Highland pupils explore salmon farming careers through Sea2Me initiative
A group of secondary school students from Plockton High School will this month participate in the inaugural Sea2Me programme, a career-focused initiative aimed at providing young people with direct insight into the Scottish salmon farming sector.
Developed by Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) West Highland in partnership with Salmon Scotland and Mowi, the programme will offer around 45 pupils a comprehensive view of the industry’s operations — from hatchery to processing.
Over several days, pupils will visit freshwater sites and seawater farms on Loch Duich and at Ardintoul to observe the salmon lifecycle and the sector’s contribution to food production. The initiative is modelled on DYW West Highland’s earlier Hill-to-Grill project, and aims to illustrate the range of local job opportunities available within the blue economy.
Jennifer Grant, programme manager at DYW West Highland, said: “The Sea2Me programme aims to showcase diverse career opportunities within the West Highlands’ environment to students and their influencers. Inspired by DYW West Highland’s Hill-to-Grill, Sea2Me offers experiential learning outside the classroom.”
“Students will explore roles in fish farming, logistics, and product development, witnessing the scale of local businesses and enhancing their meta-skills,” she added.
The programme will conclude with a final challenge in which students develop a salmon-based dish and marketing concept, supported by Mowi’s New Product Development team based at its Rosyth processing facility.
“Mowi have a large presence on Skye and the surrounding areas and we are delighted to be asked to be part of this exciting new project,” said Sarah Ralston, HR manager at Mowi Scotland. “It gives them the chance to see first-hand where their food comes from and the opportunity to create a salmon recipe, create a logo or brand, cook, taste and present to the judging panel.”
Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said the programme plays an important role in talent development for the sector: “Sea2Me will help identify salmon farmers of the future to explore career opportunities right here on their doorstep. There are dozens of different roles in salmon farming and we constantly need young people to join us to help us to meet growing demand for our world-leading product.”
The salmon farming sector employs around 2,500 people in Scotland directly, with an additional 10,000 jobs supported in the supply chain. In Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch alone, the industry contributes £119 million to the local economy and supports over 400 businesses.
Scottish salmon remains the UK’s top food export, generating £844 million in international sales in 2024.