Alvance British Aluminium

Alvance British Aluminium ALVANCE British Aluminium’s smelting facilities are driven by hydro-electric power.

04/09/2026

We’re recruiting: Welding & Fabrication Technician ✨

We have a new position available within our Welding and Fabrication team at Lochaber.

Working as part of a small team, the main focus of the role will be carrying out pin repairs within our site facility. The successful candidate will also provide welding support across the wider site when required.

Interested, or know someone who might be a good fit?

For more information check out our website or to apply, contact [email protected]

🌐alvancebritishaluminium.com/careers

Good luck to everyone taking on the Ben Nevis Race tomorrow, including several of our own colleagues who are taking on t...
04/09/2026

Good luck to everyone taking on the Ben Nevis Race tomorrow, including several of our own colleagues who are taking on the challenge. We’ll be cheering you on! 🥇

Regarded as one of Britain’s leading mountain races, the nine-mile route takes runners to the summit of Ben Nevis and back. Along the way, they’ll climb 4,411ft over some of the toughest and most varied mountain terrain in the country through Jahama Highland Estates.

This year again, every finisher will receive a British aluminium medal made here in Lochaber.

The aluminium was produced at our smelter, cast into medals by our team and engraved by CPC Infinity Designs in Caol. It’s great to keep the work local and celebrate the connection between primary production and the Lochaber mountains. ♻

We were delighted to recently welcome Bill Cameron from the Ben Nevis Race Committee to our smelter for a tour with Graeme Paterson, our Metal Production Manager, to see how the medals were made.

Thanks to Bill, our Casting team and all the volunteers who put so much work into the event. 🏃‍♀️‍➡️ 🏔️

⚡Now recruiting: We’re looking for our next Power Station Maintenance Operator to join our team at Alvance British Alumi...
02/09/2026

⚡Now recruiting: We’re looking for our next Power Station Maintenance Operator to join our team at Alvance British Aluminium in

This role within our Power Station includes carrying out planned and reactive maintenance, identifying improvements and helping to keep our plant and machinery running safely and reliably.

Interested?

✉️ Find out more on our website, including the full range of benefits and apply by emailing [email protected]

🌐 alvancebritishaluminium.com/careers/

Know someone who could be a good fit? Please share.

26/08/2026

More than 130 colleagues and family members joined us at Fort William Shinty Club for this year’s Alvance British Aluminium Family Fun Day.

The sunshine stayed with us as everyone enjoyed bouncy castles from Watch Inflatables, delicious food from G's Pizza Box and Woodys Burger Van, and time together away from work.

A highlight was the tug of war, led by our colleague Stuart Whyte, Welding and Fabrication Team Leader and local record-breaking strongman. Adults and children joined in, although nobody quite managed to assemble a team brave enough to take on Stuart!

The charity raffle by staff raised an incredible £2,416 for Highland Action for Little Ones (HALO), with Alvance British Aluminium increasing the donation to £5,000. ❤️

Thank you to everyone who bought tickets, helped organise the day and the businesses who generously donated prizes:

AJ Engineering & Construction Services Ltd, Altrad York Linings, ASW Construction, Ben Nevis Inn, Bowman Skip Hire, Boyd Brothers Haulage, Briggs Equipment UK, Bycroft Consulting Ltd, CrossFit Ben Nevis, Cruise Loch Linnhe, D&J Campbell Ltd, Dynamic Industrial Solutions, Farmstead Fayre, Fassfern Highland Gins, Flowserve, G Welding, Flannigan Joinery, GB Railfreight, Gorell, Great Glen Shipping, Group Tegula, Gus Kennedy Contractors Ltd, H&S Plumbing and Heating, Highland Book Shop, Highland Cinema, Highland Soap, Industrial Electrical Services (IES), Intrabiz Scaffolding, JAHAMA Highland Estates, Kingdom Security, Lochaber Engineering & Welding Services (LEWS), MacGregors Industrial Supplies, Manson & MacBeath Funeral Directors, Network Refrigeration & Air, Nevis Bank Inn, Nevis Cycles, Sónas Restaurant, Spice Tandoori, STAG Infrastructure Ltd, 3 Wise Monkeys and VTG Rail UK.

Thank you also to Fort William Shinty Club for their hospitality.

Read more about the day and the charity selected on our website: alvancebritishaluminium.com/news/alvance-british-aluminium-colleagues-raise-funds-for-highland-families-through-halo/

26/08/2026

🌱 Ready for your next step - or a completely new direction?

We’re recruiting an HSE Specialist (Environmental) to join our HSEQ & Sustainability team at Alvance British Aluminium.

The role will help drive environmental compliance and continual improvement across our site, covering monitoring, data analysis, regulatory reporting, audits, inspections and improvement projects.

You may already have experience in HSEQ or environmental management - or you might be looking to build a new career in this field. Depending on your qualifications and experience, the position may be offered at specialist or trainee level, with training and development provided.

Don’t meet every requirement? We would still encourage you to apply.

Find out more on our website: alvancebritishaluminium.com/careers

Apply: [email protected]

Liam Moynihan has raced at World Cups across six continents, ridden down an active volcano and built an online audience ...
25/08/2026

Liam Moynihan has raced at World Cups across six continents, ridden down an active volcano and built an online audience of more than 50,000 YouTube subscribers and 40,000 Instagram followers as a professional mountain biker.

Today, you’ll find him working in another seriously hot environment: the Potrooms at Alvance British Aluminium.

After leaving Lochaber High School, Liam completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Strathclyde and spent a year in part-time research. A PhD in fluid dynamics looked likely, but mountain biking was starting to look like an exciting career.

Engineering was put on hold while Liam raced across South America, North America, Japan and Europe, taking on World Cups, the Megavalanche and Mountain of Hell, to name just a few. He also filmed his rides as Papa Moyn, with his raw race footage leading to content work for some of mountain biking’s biggest brands.

One of his favourite days on a bike was spent riding down Stromboli, the active volcano off Sicily.

After years away from engineering, Liam returned home to Lochaber and joined Alvance British Aluminium as a Graduate Mechanical Engineer. He has since progressed to Department Engineer in the Potrooms, where alumina is dissolved in a molten cryolite bath at around 960–980°C to produce primary aluminium.

It is a very different challenge from riding down Stromboli, although perhaps not such an unexpected destination for someone whose favourite ride took place on a volcano.

Liam still races and films when he can fit it around work and being dad to three girls. Lochaber gives him the lot: rewarding engineering work, world-class riding and his family all in one place.

Could your next move bring you to Alvance British Aluminium?

Liam joined us as a graduate. Now we’re looking for the next two.

Recruitment is now open for:

Graduate Mechanical Engineer
Graduate Electrical Engineer

This is hands-on engineering at full scale, inside the UK’s only primary aluminium smelter.

Bring your degree. Put it to work.
Explore the roles and apply: alvancebritishaluminium.com/careers

In 1986, Halley’s Comet made its most recent appearance, and Pixar was founded. It was also the year Robin Gillies began...
24/08/2026

In 1986, Halley’s Comet made its most recent appearance, and Pixar was founded. It was also the year Robin Gillies began his career with the business; he is pictured below, third from the left.

Robin started as an apprentice electrician on August 18th 1986, in British Alcan Fort William and completed his apprenticeship at Kinlochleven smelter. He later returned to Lochaber as a Site Services electrician, before becoming an electrician at the Powerhouse. In 1998, Robin became the youngest team leader in the plant.

In 2008-2012, Robin was also involved in a major upgrade of Lochaber Power Station. The original 12 Pelton turbines, which powered 24 direct-current generators, were replaced with five larger Francis turbines, each driving an alternating-current generator. Despite reducing the number of turbines from 12 to five, the upgrade increased the station’s generating capacity from 72 megawatts to 86.5 megawatts - an increase of around 20%. A qualified electrical craftsman and electrical technician, Robin has also served as a safety representative at both Kinlochleven and Lochaber and was a union representative for 12 years. He is a qualified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt practitioner and has been involved in efficiency and quality improvement work throughout his career.

Outside work, Robin is an amateur musician who plays the euphonium and is a former chairperson of Lochaber Community Wind Band.

Please join us in congratulating Robin on reaching this outstanding 40-year milestone! 🎉

Meet our newest apprentices! 👋🏼(L-R) Say hi to James MacKinnon and Archie Groundwater, who have started their four-year ...
21/08/2026

Meet our newest apprentices! 👋🏼

(L-R) Say hi to James MacKinnon and Archie Groundwater, who have started their four-year electrical through UHI Inverness with us this month.

Former High School pupil James is following a route his dad knows well. Barrie MacKinnon began his own career here as an apprentice and is now a Maintenance Craftsperson.

Archie, a former High School pupil, also has a family connection to the site. His cousin, Aaron Hartley, works here as a Maintenance Craftsperson, having started as an apprentice too.

More than 20% of our workforce began their careers here as apprentices. We're proud to support this route, as it leads to long and varied careers across the site.

Family connections are also a big part of our workforce, with second and third generations often following parents, grandparents and other relatives into the business.

Could this be your route too?

We’ll be at the Lochaber Careers Fair at Lochaber High School on 27 August, sharing the wide range of opportunities available across Alvance British Aluminium and Jahama Highland Estates.

Come and say hello, meet the team and ask us what working here is really like.

Can’t wait until then? Keep in touch with us at [email protected]

Good luck to all students returning to school after the summer holidays this week! As a new school year begins, it’s a g...
18/08/2026

Good luck to all students returning to school after the summer holidays this week! As a new school year begins, it’s a good reminder that there is no single route to finding the career that’s right for you.

Here's Blair Nicolson's story

Blair grew up in , with Mamore Estate and the surrounding hills part of everyday life. At the time, he never really thought about how much work went into looking after the land.

After leaving Kinlochleven 3-18 Campus in 2022, Blair spent three years on a bricklaying apprenticeship, working in and around the Lochaber area, with two of those years spent in college on block release at UHI Inverness.

He enjoyed the practical side of the trade and knew he wanted a job that let him work with his hands.

His Mother’s partner, Cameron Loudon, works for Jahama Highland Estates and encouraged Blair to get some experience on the estate. Blair took to the work and joined the team as an Estate Ghillie at Mamore.

He has now been in the role for a year and will be studying online for his NC in Gamekeeping through UHI North, West and Hebrides soon.

The course gives him the background knowledge, while his job allows him to put it into practice every day.

Working on the estate has completely changed the way Blair sees the place where he grew up. He now understands just how much happens behind the scenes and the range of skills involved in caring for the land.

Blair is now building his career at Mamore, gaining hands-on experience and working towards his qualification while staying in the place he knows best.

It is a fantastic opportunity and just the start of what lies ahead for him.

How much do you really know about the careers on your doorstep?

Address

Lochaber Smelter, North Road
Fort William
PH336TH

Telephone

+441397902233

Website

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