Orcadian Column, 13 March 2025

Orkney has established itself as a “must visit” destination for government ministers, parliamentary committees and politicians of every political stripe. In the last month alone, we’ve seen the Rural Affairs Secretary, Mairi Gougeon make a whistlestop tour of local farm businesses, following hot on the heels of a First Ministerial ‘state visit’ that included a welcome trip out to Papay.

In speaking to parliamentary and government colleagues after they’ve returned from the islands, I’ve been struck by the fact that the abiding impression in almost every instance is of a community with a ‘can do’ attitude. Whatever the business, organisation or project visited, the message is always the same: a profound admiration for the skill, innovation and tenacity that Orcadians bring to any task they take on.

Few embody these characteristics more fully than Dougie Leask, the founder of Leask Marine, which marks its 40th anniversary this year. Dougie also exhibits the quiet modesty of so many islanders, who go about their business in the most ‘unshowy’ of ways.

I first met Dougie shortly after being elected as Orkney’s MSP in 2007. At the time, he was seeking to invest in a new vessel to allow Leask Marine to step up its capacity to meet the needs of a burgeoning renewable energy sector. He was looking for advice and assistance as he tried to pull together the necessary funds to acquire a suitable vessel. Even to my relatively untrained eye, this appeared to be a bold and potentially risky move, but one that Dougie was determined to make, resolutely confident it was in the interests of the business and the wider Orkney community.

Of course, Dougie was right and Leask Marine has continued to go from strength to strength, now employing over 40 people, with an annual turnover of £15m and investment of over £25m in the last four years. All a far cry from his days as a scallop diver, a grounding of which Dougie remains fiercely and justifiably proud.

With his wife, Karen by his side, Dougie has built an impressive business, whose skilled team and workboats are much in demand locally, nationally and internationally not just in the energy sector but in fisheries, aquaculture, ports and harbours.

It was a real privilege, therefore, to be invited to join Dougie, Karen and Leask Marine staff and guests in celebrating the last 40 years at a dinner on Saturday evening in the former Wolstenholme premises in Hatston. Before the site is turned into Leask Marine’s global HQ, it was transformed for one night only into the finest of venues for a memorable dinner-dance. As well as providing an opportunity to toast a genuine local success story, and raise a glass to the next 40 years, the evening also saw a hefty sum donated to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation in aid of MND research.

Key to creating more such success stories will be developing the skills of our future workforce. In that regard, the apprenticeship scheme will have an important role to play. Already it is making an impact in sectors such as construction, but there is scope and a need to get businesses in other sectors more involved.

There are a range of different types of apprenticeships, all of which offer the benefit of allowing skills to be developed through a mixture of classroom learning and hands-on experience in the workplace. The young apprentices I met at UHI Orkney last Monday as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week all spoke enthusiastically about their experience, and the confidence it had given them. This was echoed by their employers, clearly benefiting from valuable recruitment in a tight local labour market, but also finding the chance to develop young talent hugely rewarding.

Those overseeing the scheme in Orkney are keen to raise awareness and persuade more businesses and individuals of the potential benefits for them. It is a message I would strongly endorse and one that sits very comfortably with the ‘can do’ attitude that already plays to Orkney’s advantage. Who knows, with the right mentoring, it is a scheme that may yet see the next Dougie Leask emerge in future.