FIVE Westbury winners received awards at the 2013 Wiltshire College Apprenticeship Awards recently.
They were among 25 award winners and their employers recognised at a ceremony at the Arc Theatre, Trowbridge, in front of over 130 guests.
Award winners from Westbury included Sarah Archer, who won ‘Apprentice of the Year’ for her children and young people’s Workforce apprenticeship with Heytesbury Hedgehogs.
Abigail Walker won ‘Apprentice of the Year in design’; and Sam Adams was awarded ‘Advanced Apprentice of the Year’ for his success in plumbing with Wiltshire College.
Ross Clark, aged 25, was awarded ‘Apprentice of the Year’ for Trowel Occupations. He said, “I have always been into building so it was nice to be given the opportunity with this apprenticeship. I would like to have my own building business one day and my apprenticeship is giving me the confidence and skills to do that.”
Harry Beer, who works at Cooper Tire and Rubber Company in Melksham was awarded ‘Advanced Apprentice of the Year’ in mechanical engineering following great success in his apprenticeship. Harry, who was also recently invited to meet the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg at an apprenticeship event in Westminster, commented, “It is brilliant to win this award. I hope to take things further and become a steel engineer after completing my apprenticeship. My advice to others who are wondering what to do after school is to find something you want to be involved in and just go for it. Doing an apprenticeship is the best decision I have ever made.”
The awards ceremony was attended by Jade Nash, finalist from BBC show The Apprentice, who gave a revealing presentation about her experience on the show and how important it is to experience the workplace to develop strong interpersonal skills as well as academic qualifications.
Jade was full of praise for the apprentices, commenting, “It is so inspiring to see how much drive and ambition these young adults have. I, along with all of the other guests, am very humbled and proud to be here to celebrate their success.”
Chair of governors at Wiltshire College, Helen Birchenough, explained that the number of apprentices trained in 2012 exceeded 900 across Wiltshire.
