A determined teenager arrived unannounced at his local mining site in search of work – and struck gold in the shape of a rewarding career.

Craig Muir chanced his luck one morning when he turned up at the Rusha surface mine in Breich, West Lothian, asking for a job.

The management at Banks Mining were so surprised and impressed by the 20-year-old’s bold move they decided to give him a chance and after Craig displayed huge enthusiasm for the role and a willingness to learn, he landed the job full-time.

Now, Breich based Craig is on his way to a long and rewarding career as Banks Mining are paying for him to attend a training course at college.

He said: “I’m not one for sitting around and doing nothing, so when I heard about the site opening I went down to try and get a job.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity, especially working for such a good employer like Banks. Everyone is supportive and I am learning from people who are qualified in areas that I have no experience in so I’m always learning.

“When I found out they were going to send me to college, I was over the moon. My parents are very proud of me. I go to college one day a week and the rest of the time I’m on site.

“Getting the job has changed my life, and now getting myself qualifications is going to improve my future and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that everyone at Banks has given me.”

Craig started with Banks in January 2013 and began the Construction Plant Mechanics course at Kelvin College in Glasgow in September of this year. The course will see him train to be a plant fitter and graduate with an SVQ in four years’ time.

Jim Donnelly, Mining Director at Banks Mining, has been hugely impressed by Craig and is hoping his story inspires others.

He said: “Craig is full of enthusiasm and is a positive role model for others.

“When he first arrived we were impressed by his old fashioned method of job-seeking, and he showed great promise from day one and has never stopped asking for more work and responsibility.

“Over the last year his hard work and determination have seen him progress from his initial role and he has been able to participate in more skilled tasks and roles within the site maintenance team.

“We were all very impressed by his work ethic, eagerness to learn and positive attitude and wanted to invest in his future.

“We decided to offer Craig the opportunity of attending college and gaining professional qualifications that will improve his career. We are very proud to have him working alongside us and hope his story will inspire more people to work with us.”

“Our people are the biggest factor in our success, and by training young lads like Craig we are investing in the future”

Banks has permission to undertake operations at Rusha for a seven-year period, and once coaling is complete, the 154-hectare site will be fully restored and landscaped to a mixture of woodland and agriculture.

The company estimates that the Rusha site will contribute more than £5 million to the local economy every year through wages and other supply chain contributions, and in addition to the people employed on site, it will also support a number of other off-site jobs in related transport and supplies activity.

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