Mr Aitchison joined BHA from school almost 10 years ago as part of the Working Rite Programme which was funded by the Scottish Government through Wider Role Funding.

He fondly remembers receiving a moped through the Wheels to Work scheme which enabled him to make the daily 30-mile round trip to Duns from his home in Eyemouth.

Having left school at the age of 16 he started work assisting the Association’s handyman with various jobs throughout its housing stock, learning many aspects of trade-related tasks.

This has provided Jamie with a wealth of knowledge in the maintenance sector as well as an insight into the challenges faced by a housing association.

Dave Gray, BHA’s technical services manager, said: “We are delighted to have appointed Jamie as our trainee technical officer. He is very customer-focused and will be a great asset within the technical team as we deliver our planned, cyclical and responsive repairs service in the forthcoming years and we look forward to utilising and developing his skills further in this area for many years to come.”

Jamie Aitchison added: “My BHA journey has been an important one. I originally started in 2009 at 16- years-old through the Working Rite Programme with a six month’s work placement. This then led to a 10-year job on the tools.

“It has been an exciting and rewarding time for me at BHA and my hard work and experience has paved the way for me to pursue a career in housing maintenance and my ambition is to become a Technical Officer. I am delighted with my appointment of trainee technical officer and ready to embrace the challenge.”